No Privacy
by Sorceress Myst
Summary: The sequel to Respect Points. Baralai and Paine can't seem to find any privacy in Bevelle or anywhere else. Gippal and Rikku's wedding is quickly approaching and Nooj suddenly finds himself helping a girl with her 'problem'. Pairings listed in ch. 1.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own FFX-2 or any of its characters, but I do own a Paine doll complete with her sword and display stand.

Pairings include: Baralai/Paine, Yuna/Tidus, Gippal/Rikku, Nooj/Leblanc, and OC/(either Brother, Shinra, or a mystery person)

Enjoy the prologue and please excuse any OOCness.

No Privacy

_Three Months Ago_

In Luca, the party was bigger than what even Rikku had planned. Somehow, information leaked out (from Leblanc and her Syndicate's big mouths) that the High Summoner herself was coming to Luca to have a party. The townspeople quickly decorated the city square with streamers, glitter, and lots of confetti. When the Celsius landed, the team was greeted with loud music and the smell of food. This brought a sigh of relief to Yuna because all the food she prepared had already been eaten up by Ormi, Brother, Buddy, and Rikku.

"PARTY!" Brother screamed as he ran out of the airship like a lunatic. He was soon followed by everyone else. Ormi immediately ran to the food table while Leblanc shoved a recorder in Logos' hands and ordered him to record everything. Rikku began dancing energetically with her brother, momentarily forgetting that she was angry with him for breaking his promise of not trying to attack Gippal. Buddy dragged Shinra around with him as he talked to pretty girls who thought Shinra was cute. Tidus wasted no time as he grabbed Yuna's hand and pulled her to the dance floor next to Rikku and Brother. Nooj just stood in the shadow of the Celsius, listening in on what ever Gippal had to say to Baralai and Paine with an amused expression on his face.

When the song ended all the dancers stopped to take a break. Tidus and Yuna broke away laughing as Rikku joined them. Tidus soon noticed the three people talking quietly in the shade.

"Hey, I wonder what they're doing over there," he asked while pointing towards them. Yuna faced the direction he was pointing at before shrugging.

"I don't know. I've never seen Gippal look so serious before. I wonder what they are talking about."

"He's been acting weird lately and it seems that only Paine knows why. But when I asked her what was going on, she would just tease me by saying thinks like 'He's plotting bad things Rikku. Run away' or 'Maybe there are changes on the horizon'," Rikku said in her best imitation of Paine's voice, "And now Baralai is in on this too! I hope what ever Gippal is plotting to do blows up in his face!"

"You should stay away from Gippal anyway. He's bad news," Brother added while mimicking Rikku as she slammed her fist against her hand.

"How could you say that after all that he's done for the Al Bhed?" she shrieked at him and gently nudged him away, causing him to loose balance and nearly fall over. Tidus and Yuna sweat dropped as another argument began between the siblings.

"One minute, she is mocking Gippal, then the next minute, you see her defending him. Will she ever make up her mind?" Tidus wondered.

"Rikku likes Gippal a lot, but she will never admit it. I wish I knew if Gippal feels the same way about her," Yuna sighed. He placed his arm around her and gave her a hug.

"Maybe we can go find out. We can start with Baralai and Paine since they seem to know more about him than we do."

"That's a good idea. I'll go talk to Paine and you go talk to Baralai." She smiled before she gave him a quick kiss on the lips and ran off.

The sun was almost setting and the party was still going. Tidus and Yuna finally managed to talk to Paine and Baralai alone with out Gippal or Rikku near by. Tidus wasn't having much luck getting any information from Baralai because Baralai was good at secrecy. After all, he is the praetor of the most secretive organization in Spira. Tidus glanced over at Yuna and Paine across from them about ten feet away. It looked like Yuna wasn't having much luck either. Baralai also gazed over in their direction, but he noticed someone else there.

"I wonder what he's doing?" Baralai was pointing at Logos who appeared to be recording something near the two girls.

"I dunno. Let's go find out."

Logos was still recording when Tidus and Baralai approached. The recorder was aimed suspiciously somewhere on Paine and Yuna. Tidus gently tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey, what cha doin'?"

Logos jumped in surprise and held the recorder close to his chest, "N-nothing! I was just recording the party just as the boss ordered me to do."

Tidus crossed his arms, "Really? What, pray tell, were you recording just now?"

"The dancers of course-hey! That doesn't belong to you!" Logos yelled as Baralai snatched the recorder out of his hands and pulled out the sphere. Logos fidgeted and slowly tried to escape as Baralai played the sphere and showed it to Tidus. Just as Logos had said, the sphere was showing the dancers, but it soon drifted down to someone's legs and up to rest on two girl's behinds.

"Hmm…dancers indeed," Baralai muttered as he and Tidus glared at the man.

"Well, I suppose you want to keep that. I'll be going now." Logos tried to back away only to run into Paine and Yuna who were also staring at him with their arms crossed. Logos gulped as he realized that he was going to feel pain in the morning until an upbeat song erupted from the speakers.

"Oh! I love this song! Dance with me Logos," Ormi cried as he dragged Logos to the dance floor.

"Well, at least he didn't get to keep the sphere. Come on Yuna, let's dance some more," Tidus said as he grabbed Yuna's hand and pulled her away.

"Okay!" she chimed. Baralai looked at the sphere in his hand before he quickly pocketed it for …future reference. He then walked over to Paine and wrapped his arm around her waist.

He gave her a sideways glance, "Want to dance?"

"I don't dance," was her immediate reply.

"Please?" he begged with pleading eyes, "Just one slow song."

"Alright," she sighed, "I'll dance with you if they play a slow song."

As if on cue, the upbeat song faded away and a slow song followed. Chuckling lightly, he grabbed her hand and led her to the dance floor. He was grinning like he had the whole thing planned. They began moving in a steady rhythm. They eventually began moving closer to one another until they couldn't move much. Baralai licked his lips before he leaned down to capture her lips. Paine gladly parted her lips and deepened the kiss before she felt something hard pressing against her body. She pulled away and looked down before shoving her hand in his pocket to find Logos' sphere.

"Mind telling me why you have this?" she asked while her ruby eyes glared at him. He blushed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I was going to dispose of it later. Besides, if I left it behind, then Logos would claim it."

"Uh-huh. I'll just keep this and personally make sure that it's destroyed."

"But I…," he began to argue, but then he cleared his throat to cover it up, "…as you wish."

The song ended and Baralai held out his arm to Paine to lead her off the dance floor even though he had a feeling she was going to ignore him and storm off angrily. He was surprised when she smiled sweetly at him gripped his arm tightly. He caught her mischievous glance before they left the dance floor, letting him know that he is not going to have fun for the rest of the night.

"Is there any way I can make it up you?" Baralai asked, hoping to avoid her anger.

"For what?"

"Aren't you mad at me?"

"No, I guess not. There's no reason to be angry if you're not staring at other women's butts," she reasoned.

"Does that mean I get to keep the sphere?"

"Don't push your luck."

"Right." After a few moments of silence, Baralai finally remembered something, "Paine? I've been wondering something for awhile. How did Ormi get more respect points than Logos and Leblanc?"

"Because…" she was cut off as Gippal approached them.

"Hey, guys. It's time." He then quickly walked off towards where Rikku was standing.

Paine smirked before she gently nudged Baralai in Brother's direction, "Have fun."

He quickly whipped his head back to look down at her, "What do you mean 'Have fun'? You're coming with me."

"Mmm, I think you can handle it all by yourself."

"I should've seen this coming," he sighed deeply as he made his way to Brother. Brother was just about to glance in Gippal and Rikku's direction when he patted him on the back, "Hey, Brother! Why don't we go have a drink?"

"Hey Rikku, wanna dance?" She cringed at the sound of the voice before she turned to find Gippal standing behind her with a cocky grin on his face. She looked around and noticed that there was no one nearby and the lights were dimming for another slow song. Rikku finally had enough of his strange behavior and decided to ask him about it.

"Why are you calling me by my name all of a sudden!"

His grin didn't leave his face, "'Cause you're always telling me to call you by your name instead of 'Cid's girl'."

"But why are you listening _now_?" she shouted as she became more frustrated.

"Wanna dance?" he asked again, causing her to groan and grab her hair in anger.

"NO! Not until you tell me why you are acting so weird!"

His grin disappeared and his face grew serious, "I thought you would have figured it out by now. Dr. P said my problem was obvious."

"What? That your head is stuck up your butt?"

"I guess I deserved that, but no. In the past, I've been calling you 'Cid's girl' and picking on you for one reason-well actually two. One reason is because you look cute when you're mad," he said while poking her in the cheek, "…and the second reason is because I love you…"

"What! W-what did you say?" she stammered as she backed into a near by wall with her cheeks blushing a bright red. The fact that she was blushing made Gippal bolder.

"I. Love. You. And I need to know if you feel the same way." He stepped closer to her.

"Y-yna oui zugehk? (A-are you joking?)" She was so surprised at his answer that she forgot her English. Her cheeks were becoming even redder as he took one more step closer. He was now standing right in front of her. All she needed to do was stand on her toes and her lips would be able to reach his.

"Tuac ed muug mega E's zugehk? (Does it look like I'm joking?)" he answered huskily before he switched back to English, "Do you love me Rikku?"

"Y-yes!" she squeaked as she shut her eyes. She was expecting him to kiss her, but was surprised when he grabbed her hand and dragged her away from the wall.

"Where are we going?" she inquired, but received no answer from Gippal. He led her to the D.J.'s stage and grabbed a microphone before nodding to the D.J., who was turning down the music.

"Everyone, may I have your attention please," he began while tugging a blushing Rikku closer to him, "As most of you are aware of Cid's plans for an arranged married between his daughter, Rikku, and myself, I am proud to announce that the rumor is true and that we are expected to marry in three months. I hope to see you all there."

"Huh?" Rikku was wide eyed at the announcement as the crowd cheered.

Brother immediately spit out the punch he was drinking and faced the couple on the stage. He was easily held back by Baralai when he tried to run towards them because he was still a little wobbly from the spiked punch that Baralai gave him. Unfortunately for Baralai, Brother only shook his head to clear out the blurry vision and let his rage sober him up enough to break away and try again to attack Gippal. But when Brother was halfway to the stage, a small gunshot suddenly rang through the crowd and he was soon face down on the concrete dance floor, snoring loudly. Baralai glanced over to Paine as she quickly hid something behind her back.

"What did you do?"

She only smirked and slowly showed the small handgun before she muttered, "Tranquilizer."

Gippal picked Rikku up bridal style and jumped off the stage. All their friends and most of the Al Bhed gathered around them as he placed her back on the ground. Yuna ran up to hug her cousin while Tidus patted Gippal on his back.

"Congratulations man!"

"Why didn't you tell me you were getting married?" Yuna cried when she finally let go.

"I didn't know! Ooh! This is all going too fast!" Rikku moaned as she held her head in her hands.

"You think so?" Gippal stroked his chin and gazed at the night sky, "Then I guess you don't want to hear the names I thought of for our children."

"Names?" Rikku didn't like the sound of that.

"Yeah, like Neggi, Hakke, Rygga, Nokky, Huggo, Gippal Jr., and why not a Rikku Jr. too?"

"Seven kids?" Rikku cried out in shock.

"Better get busy then," Paine teased as she and Baralai joined the group.

"Actually, with the exception of Gippal Jr., those were just the names for the girls," Gippal said while keeping his gaze towards the sky.

"There's more?"

"Yep, the boys names. Kebbym, Gappos, Kybbuc, Goppil, Kubbem, Gippas, Kebbyc, Gappol, Kybbum, Goppis, Kubbec…"

"THAT'S ENOUGH! I'm gonna be fat when I have all of these kids!"

"Not to mention the pain of buying holiday gifts for all of them," Tidus added before Yuna scolded him and lightly hit him in the arm.

"Aw lighten up Cid's girl! They were only name _ideas_, I don't really want to have that many kids."

"Who would?" Baralai wondered before Rikku finally exploded.

"STOP CALLING ME 'CID'S GIRL"! I HAVE A NAME!"

"He, he, Rikku's always good for a laugh," Gippal chuckled and messed up Rikku's hair.

"I agree."

"Crid ib, Paine! (Shut up, Paine)"

"It's actually quite addicting."

"Oui duu, Baralai! (You too, Baralai)"

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Sorceress Myst: Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews on Respect Points! I had originally intended Respect Points to be a one-shot fic, but some of the reviews I've received plus odd words like 'tranquilizer' and the English to Al Bhed translator I found on the internet somehow inspired me to write a sequel. And another thanks goes out to Sorceress Ki aka "Rikku" for making me laugh when she screamed at the cliffhanger I left in the rough draft I sent her. Well I guess anyone would get desperate to know what happened next if they read 'Baralai licked his lips before he…'. C ya next chapter!


	2. Ruined Plans

Thank you so much for the reviews everyone! Here is the first chapter! Oh, and I don't own FFX-2 or any of its characters.

Chapter 1

Baralai walked down the halls, past the priest, maids, and guards to his room. It was a long tiring day of constant problems and tons of paperwork. He wanted nothing more than to have a nice quiet dinner with Paine and then go to sleep. He suddenly found himself walking faster as he thought of Paine. She has been living in Bevelle for the past three months, working in the Via Infinito or in the library for anymore secrets that could threaten Spira.

Tonight was the night, he decided with determination. He had already informed everyone that no one was to bother him tonight. With no interruptions, he will finally be able to spend time with her and maybe even get the chance to finally ask her the big question. There has been a small, hard lump in his pocket waiting three weeks for that moment.

When he finally reached the door of his room, the mentally checked the things he needed to do. He had already asked that his and Paine's dinner should be brought to his room and a table with some candles had already been set up. He made sure all his work was done and that Paine had nothing to do tonight. Now all he needed to do was go get Paine. Her room was right next to his so it wasn't a long trip. But when his fist was about to knock on her door, he suddenly decided to retreat to his room and practice what he wanted to say to her. He was shocked to find a pair of angry ruby eyes glaring at him when he opened his door.

"Paine?" he looked at the silver haired woman questioningly as she stood up from his bed.

"This was the only place where they won't go looking for me," she explained as he closed the door.

"Have the servants been pampering you again?" Ever since the servants of the temple found out that she was the praetor's girlfriend, they have been treating her like a princess. It constantly got on her nerves because being pampered was something that she was unaccustomed to and she quickly found that she didn't like it.

"That's only the half of it," Paine muttered before she gave him a quick kiss on the lips, "The maids have been talking about me in their little gossip groups because I see them taking quick glances at me while they whisper and some of the sewing girls suddenly took an interest towards me and tried to get my measurements so they could make me a dress."

Baralai blinked at her story. Could all of Bevelle already know what he was trying to do or was this a coincidence? He opened his mouth to try to cheer her up, but someone knocked on the door.

"Lord Baralai, I have your dinner," a timid voice announced as he and Paine glanced at each other.

He cleared his throat before shouting, "Come in."

A maid opened the door and pulled in a long cart with her. She approached the small table and placed the meal on both sides and then took out a bucket full of ice to place the Champaign in. When she turned around to leave, she finally noticed Paine and held in a giggle.

"Good evening Lady Paine. We've been wondering where you have been hiding," she said before pulling the cart out of the room, chuckling giddily the whole way. This left proof that everyone, except hopefully Paine, knew that Baralai was going to try to ask her to marry him. Paine soon gave him a questioning glance that made him quickly face the table so he could light the candles and open the Champaign bottle.

"I was hoping to surprise you, but since it's ready and you're already here…Would you like to have a nice, quiet dinner with me?" he asked while pouring the bubbly golden liquid into the glasses. He was rewarded with a small laugh and a soft kiss in the cheek before she sat down.

"Is this why the servants are acting strange or are you hiding something from me and they found out again?"

Her question caused him to freeze as he was about to sit down. He then thought about how to answer her only to pathetically attempt to change the subject, "So, was there anything else that happened today?"

She rolled her eyes at him and let him get away with it this time, "Leblanc and her goons visited. Her warm greeting consisted of a 'How many respect points do I have now, love?'. She wasn't happy when I told her that nothing changed."

"Why didn't you tell her that she could have had as much as Ormi? I bet that would have made her happy," Baralai added as they began eating.

"Because she would only get upset again when I tell her that it was her loud annoying mouth that took away most of her points. She already doesn't like the fact that Logos is lower than her only because he has a dirty mind."

"Did she tell you why she was here? You didn't mention Nooj being there so I am assuming that she is looking for him again?" Baralai looked up when she suddenly dropped her fork.

"Uh, Baralai? The story I am about to tell you may shock you…" she began.

_Flashback_

"Have you seen my Noojie-Woojie, love?" Leblanc inquired with a worried gaze. Paine had just come out of the library and her arms were loaded with some large books about Spira's history.

"Nooj? I haven't seen him. How long has he been missing?"

If Nooj was gone from her sight for more than ten minutes, Leblanc panicked. Paine was only going to help her if he has been missing for days.

"He disappeared five days ago after I told him I was pregnant." The books fell from Paine's arms and unto the floor, the loose paper stuffed in them flew everywhere. That answer was so unexpected that it even made Paine was speechless.

"He left when the boss wanted …ugh, chocolate covered sardines and ice cream with pickles," Logos explained as Ormi crossed him arms and nodded.

"Said that he didn't want to stick around when she starts getting mood swings," Ormi added.

_End Flashback_

"Nooj is going to be a father!?" Baralai exclaimed as she slowly nodded.

"It worries me though, Nooj wouldn't just run away not even from Leblanc."

"He probably wants some time alone to think. He is a deathseeker and the fact that he is going to be a father is going to change everything," he said as his shock subsided.

"That could be true although I believe that he isn't a deathseeker anymore. I think he gave up when he married Leblanc," she paused to let out a fake sigh before continuing, "If only you could give up your bad habit."

"What bad habit?" he asked, his eyes narrowing in confusion.

"Oh it's nothing serious. You only have a habit of keeping secrets from me, like the one you're keeping from me now."

Baralai had to smile at her ability to change the subject back to what it was before. He took a deep breath as he decided that this is a good time to ask, but first he wanted to make it a little romantic.

"Okay, if you want to know, then come here," he ordered. Paine calmly stood up and crossed her arms as she made her way over to Baralai's side of the table. When she was standing in front of him, he pulled her into his lap and began planting small kisses starting from her lips to her jaw line. She knew this was his way of stalling, but she couldn't really say she didn't like it and allowed him to continue until he reached the base of her neck. She then leaned forward to whisper tauntingly in his ear.

"I'm waiting." This made him stop, but he didn't move away from where he was. If he couldn't see her ruby eyes then maybe he would be able ask her with out getting lost in her gaze.

"Paine, I was wondering if…" he began as he dug in his pocket for the tiny box. His fingers brushed against the velvet surface when someone knocked on the door making him scowl against Paine's neck.

"I thought I ordered that no one is to bother me tonight!" he growled at the door, startling Paine since she never seen him this angry before.

"Yeah, that's what the guards told me, but I knew you wouldn't mind a visit from an old friend," a familiar masculine voice called from behind the door. Paine glanced at Baralai before she stood up and walked towards the door. Baralai followed her while suppressing the urge to beat the intruder senseless. Suddenly they heard a feminine, high pitched 'hiya!' before the door was kicked down, allowing Gippal and Rikku to enter Baralai's room.

"Paine!" the young Al Bhed girl screamed as she squeezed the air out of her friend.

"It's nice to see you too, Rikku. Now let go of me." Baralai grabbed Gippal by the collar of his shirt and dragged him away from Paine and Rikku while Paine was busy prying Rikku off of her.

"Gippal, don't do that again," he scolded once he was sure he was out of Paine's hearing range, "What if Paine and I were doing something …you know…private…"

"Yeah right, I know you man. You wouldn't do anything like that until you're married," Gippal chuckled while he watched Rikku run up to the small, candle lit table.

"Ooh! Bubbles," she said as she held up Paine's Champaign glass. Gippal looked at Baralai, then at the table, then at Paine, and finally back at Baralai before it finally clicked.

"Wait a minute…romantic candle light, fancy dinner, Champaign…," he checked off in a quiet voice before raising the volume for all of Bevelle to hear, "Hey Baralai, are you trying to-"

He was cut off by Baralai's glare. Gippal chuckled and walked over to Rikku and placed his arm around her waist. He whispered in her ear to tell her what they had just interrupted.

"What brings you here?" Baralai inquired before Rikku had the chance to start giggling.

"Were here to pick you up, just as it says on your invitation," Gippal replied.

"What invitation?" Paine asked, causing the two Al Bheds to stare at her in disbelief.

"You mean you guys didn't get an invitation to our wedding?" Rikku then hit Gippal in the shoulder, "I thought I gave you the invitations to give out to everybody."

"I was too busy with that machina project your dad put me on so I had Buddy deliver them," he explained. Rikku suddenly gasped in horror.

"But Buddy was on vacation! Which means…"

"Brother got to them," Paine finished for her.

"So that's why he was laughing manically when he drove us over here," Gippal said as he rubbed the back of his neck. Rikku quickly bolted out of the room muttering about how she was going to hurt Brother, leaving everyone behind to stare the doorway. Suddenly there was a scream followed by a crash, but before anyone in the room could run out to see what happened, Rikku popped her head back in while breathing heavily.

"Well!? Let's go! We got to hurry and get the others before they make plans and miss the wedding next week!" she rapidly shouted as she grabbed Paine and dragged her with her. Gippal chuckled and pulled Baralai by his arm as he ran after the girls.

They made it to the Celsius near the Highbridge in less than ten minutes. But before they could board the airship, Baralai had to explain to the guards that he and Paine were going on a small vacation and that they were not being kidnapped. Rikku continued to drag Paine and Baralai with her until they reached the bridge. Buddy was sitting in his usual place looking very relaxed while Brother glanced at the newcomers and snickered evilly. Rikku quickly stormed over to Brother and smacked him upside the head.

"Fryd tet oui tu fedr dra ehjedydeuhc!? (What did you do with the invitations!?)" she cried shrilly as her brother shielded his head from anymore attacks.

"Fryd ehjedydeuhc? (What invitations?)" he asked in a way too innocent voice.

"Dra uhac oui cduma vnus Buddy! (The ones you stole from Buddy!)" she accused as she pointed at Buddy. Buddy sat up as he remembered something.

"Fyed, druca fana ehjedydeuhc oui fana pinhehk? (Wait, those were invitations you were burning?)" Buddy's question to Brother made Rikku clench her teeth. She thought she was going to explode when he jumped out of his pilot seat with a smug grin.

"Ev hu uha crufc ib du dra fattehk, drah vydran femm lyhlam ed. (If no one shows up to the wedding, then father will cancel it.)" he laughed and dodged out of the way as Rikku tried to tackle him.

"Oui eteud! (You idiot!)" Everyone sighed as they watched her chase Brother around the bridge. It wasn't long until Rikku was strangling him.

Gippal shook his head as he gently pried Rikku off of Brother and massaged her shoulders while muttering, "Ra naymmo haatc y kenmvneaht… (He really needs a girlfriend…)"

"Caneuicmo. (Seriously)," Paine agreed as Brother stuck his tongue out at Gippal and ran back to his station. Baralai leaned beside a wall, clearly amused by the scene before him.

"E's kmyt oui dyikrd sa Al Bhed un amca E fuimt ryja hu etay fryd'c kuehk uh. (I'm glad you taught me Al Bhed or else I would have no idea what's going on)," he smiled at Paine. He finally cooled off from Gippal's interruption and decided to wait a little longer before he would try to ask Paine again. First he needed to focus on his best friend's wedding. Once Rikku calmed down and started relaxing against Gippal, she began muttering apologies for her unusual behavior.

"So if the wedding is in a week, then why are you picking us up now?" Paine wondered.

"Well, as you can see, Rikku is stressed out so I thought it would be a good idea if we all got together to relax and have some fun before we start preparing for the wedding," Gippal explained as Rikku yawned.

"We'll pick up Yunie and Tidus tomorrow, so let's go get some sleep," she suggested while making her way to the lift.

"Sounds like a good idea," Baralai decided as he put his arm around Paine and followed her to the cabin. They heard Gippal give orders to Buddy to direct the Celsius to Besaid as the lift started. Rikku hid her furious look with a tired smile when she heard Brother shouting that he was the leader and not Gippal. Paine, Baralai, and Rikku soon fell asleep in their beds knowing that tomorrow was going to be a long day.

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Sorceress Myst: Ah, another chapter completed! Thanks goes out to the word 'bubbles' for inspiring another scene in the story. I apologize for the long wait on the chapters, I have been busy updating my novels on and going to band camp. I will start working on the next chapter of 'No Privacy' once I finish another chapter on one of my novels. Come read my novels if you have free time, you can find the link in my author profile. Well, C ya next chapter!


	3. Who or What Are We Searching for?

To make up for the slow updates, I wrote a long chapter. This chapter will introduce a new character, but don't worry, she's not a Mary-sue…or at least not intended to be. Either way at least there's _something_ in this fanfic I own.

Chapter 2

"WHAT!" a shrill voice shrieked in the tranquility of Besaid, followed by a baby's cry. Rikku clamped her hands to her mouth once she realized she scared Vidina. Lulu quickly bounced the baby in her arms and soothed away the tears as Wakka whispered, "Quiet, ya? You're scaring Vidina."

"Sorry…" Rikku whispered as the crying died down. She, Gippal, Paine, and Baralai arrived at Besaid to pick up Yuna and the others only to find that Yuna and Tidus were gone.

"So where did they go?" Gippal inquired calmly.

"I dunno," Wakka shrugged, "That Leblanc lady came by a week ago lookin' for Nooj and well…"

"Being the nosey people they are, Yuna and Tidus just had to go help her, right?" Paine finished.

"Yes, but they only did it so Leblanc could rest since she is expecting a baby," Lulu defended. Gippal and Rikku's jaws hung open in surprise from the news. Baralai chuckled and nervously scratched the back of his head. He was still not used to the idea either.

"Um, yeah. I forgot to tell you, Nooj and Leblanc are expecting a new addition to the family," he said lamely.

After a long awkward silence, Gippal cleared his throat, "Nooj is going to be a father? Scary."

"I'm still trying to get over the fact that they got married. Who could even stand staying with her besides her goons?" Rikku wondered.

"Apparently Nooj," Paine replied in an amused tone.

"I think this is along the lines of 'love is blind'," Baralai added before glancing at Gippal, who was deep in thought over something.

"What's wrong Gippal?" Rikku asked when she noticed his behavior.

"This is just a hunch, but if Leblanc visited a week ago and if Tidus and Yuna are traveling by foot and boat, then they must be at the Mi'ihen Highroad by now," he concluded before he grabbed her shoulders, "Let's go before it's too late."

"Oh, wait," she said as pulled away and faced Wakka and Lulu, "You were supposed to get invitations to the wedding and today is the day we were supposed to pick you up. You don't have any other plans do you?"

"No, but this is kinda short notice, ya? What do you think, Lu?"

"I think we should go," she answered and then turned to Rikku, "Give us a few minutes to pack."

"Okay, but hurry it up!" she called to their retreating forms.

Baralai stretched as the group waited in silence for Wakka and Lulu's return. He suddenly remembered last night when Paine mentioned something about Leblanc, "Since Paine saw Leblanc in Bevelle yesterday, then that means she is moving fast on some sort of transportation and it may be hard to find her again."

"Do we _want_ to find her?" Rikku asked in disgust.

"Well considering that both she and Nooj are invited guests to our wedding, I'd say we should," Gippal replied casually.

"That means we'll have to join the search party if we want to find Nooj," Paine sighed as she shook her head.

"Maybe Nooj is at the Highroad. …If only it would be that easy," Baralai mused as Wakka came running back to them while recklessly carrying Vidina in one arm and swinging a suitcase in the other. Lulu followed closely behind, carrying a suitcase of her own as she made sure Wakka wouldn't drop the baby.

"All right! Now we are ready to go!" Rikku cheered before rushing to the Celsius.

Gippal chucked at her impatience before calling out to her retreating form, "We're not in _that_ much of a hurry!"

----------------------------------------------------

Gippal managed to catch up with Rikku as she was about to enter the elevator. Since the others haven't even reached the ramp yet, they were able to enjoy a few minutes of privacy as the elevator started. Once they reached the bridge, Gippal and Rikku quickly pulled away from their kiss since they half expected Brother to be there waiting for them. Fortunately, he wasn't there, much to their relief, but they did hear shouting from behind the door. The couple glanced at each other before continuing on to the bridge, only to be greeted by the sight of Buddy and Brother in the middle of a heated argument.

"It was an octopus!" Brother screamed furiously as he waved his arms wildly in the air. Buddy was calmer than Brother as he crossed his arms over his chest and gently shook his head.

"And I'm telling you it was a squid," he argued, causing Brother's face to redden in anger.

"No! An octopus!"

"A squid!"

"An octopus!"

"A squid!"

"Fryd dra… (What the…)?" Gippal began as he looked at Rikku who only shrugged in response. They became so focused in the argument, they didn't even notice the arrival of the rest of the team.

"Wow, this airship is different from the one we used to travel in-" Wakka trailed off as the two fighting Al Bheds started getting louder.

"Octopus!"

"Squid!"

"Octopus!"

"Squid!"

"Octopus!"

"Who cares?" Paine retorted, effectively silencing them.

"Yeah," Rikku agreed, "besides, what's the difference between a squid and an octopus anyway?"

"Well, an octopus has eight legs where as a squid has nine," someone answered from behind the group. Everyone turned to find Shinra looking back at them.

"Shinra? What are you doing here?" Rikku asked in shock.

"I was the first guest to arrive, remember? Brother said he told you I was here," he explained while walking past everyone.

When what he said registered her mind, Rikku's cheeks became as red as Brother's was a moment ago before Gippal let out another 'not again' sigh. She was about to scream when sirens went off, alerting the crew to go to their designated places.

"Got a call from Rin," Buddy announced as he downloaded the signal, "he says his daughter, Nadeshia, has been kidnapped."

"Nadie?" Brother yelled before jumping to his pilot seat, "Move out!"

"Wait a minute!" Rikku called before the order could be carried out, "How do we know she didn't run away again? Besides, I wouldn't mind if we forget to search for her."

"Huh? Why?" Gippal wondered with fake innocence.

"Because she was mean to me back then! She'd always trip me-"

"So you'd fall into my arms," Gippal added almost under his breath as Rikku continued to rant.

"And then there was that time she pulled my seat away just as I was sitting down-"

"And then you landed in my lap" he finished for her as Paine smirked in an evil way.

"So this is the girl who is your 'favorite person because she helps keep my angel in my arms'?" she teased while crossing her arms.

Gippal's eye widened as he ran to her and whispered, "Quiet Dr. P, we promised that what ever went on during Crimson Squad training stays there."

"_I_ never promised anything," she scoffed, "It was you, Nooj, and Baralai who agreed to it."

"Speaking of the Crimson Squad, is this the same Nadie we saw in Bikanel?" Baralai asked, causing the grin to fade on Paine's face.

She arched an eyebrow as she switched her gaze from Gippal to Baralai, "Are you talking about that little girl who was walking around the desert in a daze?"

"What? You mean she managed to get that far away from Home?" Rikku inquired as everyone faced Gippal.

"Yeah, that's the one. If Baralai hadn't spotted her, she might have found what she was looking for," he finally responded after directing his eye to briefly glance at the floor.

"Found what she was lookin' for?" Wakka echoed in a confused tone before Shinra walked to the front of the bridge.

"In the days of Sin, Nadeshia used to be a deathseeker and ran away constantly, but now she only runs away because her father is trying to find a suitable man to marry her off to," Shinra explained. He then made his way back to his terminal as Paine began to ask a question.

"She used to be a deathseeker? Like Nooj?"

Rikku waved her hand in front of her face to dismiss the idea, "Sort of. She sought her death for a different reason, but because of her condition, Home was not only built for the Al Bhed, but also to keep her safe from anything that could harm her."

"And Home was also the place where Rikku and Gippal's complicated relationship became her plaything," Shinra chuckled in the background, earning glares from the mentioned couple.

"Who asked you Shinra?" Rikku said childishly and stuck her tongue out at him, "Anyway, we don't have to worry about this mission. Things are different now."

"But what happened that caused her to become a deathseeker?" Lulu inquired, only to be interrupted by Brother.

"Who cares? We need to go find Nadie NOW!" he shouted frantically. Baralai and Paine glanced at each other. They both noticed something strange about his behavior.

"He really needs a girlfriend huh?" Baralai mused while Paine thought the same thing.

Buddy faced everyone when the download was complete, "Rin reported that there were signs of a struggle in front of and inside Nadie's room. He has more information for us at the Moonflow. Should we go?"

"YES!" Brother screamed from the cockpit, but was ignored.

"We're going to the Mi'ihen Highroad, we don't have time for this," Rikku whined.

"But it still is dangerous for her to be out in the open like that," Gippal reasoned as he rubbed his chin.

"Not to mention the danger for anyone who comes in contact with her," Shinra muttered under his breath so no one could hear.

"Plus, Yuna and Tidus are probably already on this mission too," Paine sighed while slowly shaking her head.

"You too, Paine?" Rikku asked in shock.

"No, I'm just stating a fact."

"Either way, they would end up reaching the Moonflow once they finish searching the Highroad for Nooj," Baralai pointed out before Shinra announced the final blow.

"The comspheres picked up Yuna and Tidus' signal at the Moonflow."

"Hn, Paine was right," Wakka replied before Paine could say "See?" to Rikku.

"Alright, if they are at the Moonflow, then let's go!" Rikku cheered, grateful that they found her cousin and her boyfriend.

"Yahoo!" Brother squealed with joy, this time making Gippal and Rikku notice him.

"He seems…excited," Paine pointed out.

"Maybe the girlfriend issue already solved itself," Gippal snickered before Rikku looked appalled.

"Uh! No! Not even Nadie deserves such a horrible punishment!"

"She could at least hold his attention until after the wedding," Gippal suggested.

----------------------------------------------------

Lightning flashed and was followed closely by its brother, thunder, as it rained heavily like it does everyday in the Thunder Plains. Sitting in the middle of the chaotic weather on top of a hill was Nooj. He was so deep in thought, he didn't even flinch when lightning struck a nearby tower, nor did he care about the fact that he was completely drenched from the torrents of rain. The only thing that pulled him out of his trance was the sound of a young woman screaming, "Leave me alone!"

Nooj strained his eyes through the fog and was able to see what looked like to be a fifteen year old girl in a long black dress being chased by three men.

"Come on sweet thing!" one of the men called, "If you're worried about it that much, then we'll marry you!"

"I don't want to marry drnaa ikmo bekc (three ugly pigs)!" she cried as she tried to run faster.

----------------------------------------------------

"Yunie!" Rikku shouted joyously as she tackled Yuna into a hug. Tidus stared at the two girls and soon joined the hug since he didn't like to be left out.

"Hey! Get your hands off of my fiancé!" Gippal said jokingly to Tidus.

"Come and join us! You know you want to," Tidus taunted, "Group hug!"

"I don't do hugs…" Paine muttered as Gippal shrugged and joined in.

"Yes you do," Baralai argued playfully, "What do you call this?"

He tightened his arm around her waist.

"Okay, I don't do 'group hugs'," she admitted.

Wakka and Lulu only watched as the group hug continued. Wakka and Vidina grinned at the sight (or more precisely, Wakka was grinning and Vidina was being cute) while Lulu looked bored. Paine remembered in the back of her mind that Lulu told her that Tidus pulled stunts like this often in the past so she was used to his weirdness.

"What are you doing here, Rikku?" Yuna asked once she had the chance to pull away.

"It's a long story," Rikku started before taking a deep breath, "It all started when Gippal decided to pick up the guests a week early so we could have some fun so we wrote out the invitations. I told Gippal to deliver them, but he was busy on a project so he gave them to Buddy while Buddy was away on vacation so then Brother ended up getting the invitations and burned them. When I found out about this, I tried to strangle Brother and then we went to Besaid after we picked up Paine and Baralai in Bevelle. We found out from Wakka and Lulu that you guys were not there so we started searching for you and here you are."

"Breathe Rikku," Paine reminded her before Rikku gasped and took deep breaths. Both Yuna and Tidus blinked before the story made sense in their minds.

The only thing they could say after that was, "…Oh…"

After an awkward silence, Tidus eventually opened his mouth, "We're searching for-"

"They know. We told them already, ya?" Wakka interrupted, earning a pout and a glare from Tidus.

"Hey, did you guys know that Rin has a daughter?" Yuna inquired before he could have a chance to complain.

"Duh, every Al Bhed knows about Nadie," Gippal replied. Rikku nudged him in the ribs to make him be quiet. But before she could apologize for his rude answer, Rin appeared.

"Have you come to help search for my daughter?" He sounded calm, but his eyes and expression showed that he was worried.

"Well, actually, we only came for-" Rikku was cut off as Gippal used one arm to pulled her closer to him before covering her mouth with his free hand.

"Yes, we are," he said, ignoring the muffled protests from Rikku.

"It's not like you to get involved in things like this," Paine pointed out, skeptically as Baralai's head tilted in suspicion.

"Why do you want to search for her?"

Without letting go of Rikku, Gippal faced them with a fake grin and a serious gleam in his eye, "I was in charge of the construction of the area she lives in. I designed it so that there was no way she could leave without somebody noticing. I want to see how she was able to escape, let alone get kidnapped."

"You will be greatly disappointed at how easily she got away," Rin warned as he gestured towards the path that led to the new Home.

----------------------------------------------------

The young woman continued running through the muck as the suddenly strong winds whipped at her shoulder length light brown hair. It wasn't long before the thick mud caught her legs and forced her to fall on her hands and knees. She quickly faced the bandits as they approached her. She placed her bare, muddy left hand on the fingerless glove covering her right hand.

"Don't come any closer or I'll…" she threatened as she pulled on the thick black leather that covered her hand. The men laughed as they stopped a few feet away from her.

"You can't do anything to us," one of the bandits jeered, "We haven't said a thing about your precious Al Bhed."

"But I can't still… No, stop! Go away! I don't want to kill!" she cried helplessly as the men ignored her warnings and came closer. She closed her eyes as she shakily raised her hand, her left hand ready to peel off the glove. She flinched when she heard grunts of pain, followed by the sound of heavy bodies falling into the mud. She cracked one eye open to find the bandits unconscious and another man holding out his hand to help her up.

"Are you alright?" Nooj asked in a rather monotone voice. The girl hesitated before taking his hand. Once she did, lightning flashed, allowing Nooj to see that she had Al Bhed eyes.

"Y-you didn't-" she began to say while glancing at the bodies.

"I didn't kill them, I only knocked them out," he explained, earning a relieved look from her. He glanced around the area to see if there were more bandits after her, "We better leave this place, before they wake up."

He watched patiently as her relieved expression melted away into a confused one.

"Where do we go from here?"

Nooj shrugged slightly, "Maybe to the Moonflow?"

The girl's eyes widened in recognition of the place as she seemed to cheer up a little. Nooj had a feeling she was from the Moonflow since that's where the new Home was being rebuilt.

"Yes, that would be…" she trailed off as her mood quickly grew sullen. While only staring at the ground, she picked up the skirt of her now mud drenched dress and took a few steps forward, "On second thought, maybe not."

"Then how about Macalania or the Calm Lands?"

He couldn't think of a reason on why she didn't want to return to the Moonflow, but didn't dwell on it too long when she meekly answered, "Okay."

----------------------------------------------------

The half built Home stood proudly among the trees of the Moonflow as Rikku and the others arrived. Although the Al Bhed no longer have a use for Home, Cid stubbornly laid out plans to have it rebuilt anyway and said it could be used as an orphanage or boarding house for all of Spira. Gippal's Machine Faction greeted the team as the continued their construction work with machina.

"You see, Nadie is only half Al Bhed, like you Yunie," Rikku explained as Rin led them past some guards and into a long metal hallway, "But even though she didn't look like an Al Bhed at first glance, she couldn't blend in with Yevonites because of her cursed hand."

"Cursed hand?" Tidus prodded to keep her talking.

"Nadie has a crest in her right hand that forces her to murder anyone who bad mouths the Al Bhed. The crest's power can set the victim's body on fire from within," Gippal answered in Rikku place.

"A crest? Lulu, isn't crest magic related to your area of magic?" Yuna inquired as she faced her.

Lulu shifted Vidina in her arms before responding, "It is common for black mages to tattoo crests in their skin so they can have better control over certain spells, but crest magic is controlled magic. I fail to see how this one can _force_ anyone to do anything."

"She can consciously use the crest when it comes to self defense, but other than that, it controls her because it's not hers," Rin finally replied without looking back, "Her mother placed it on her before she died."

"I can see why she was a deathseeker," Baralai commented with a grim expression, "I almost wanted to die when Shuyin possessed me and made me to revive Vegnagun."

At the mentioning of Shuyin, Paine wanted to change the subject before Baralai could dwell on the past, but with the current topic the only question she could think of was "How many have been destroyed by the curse?"

"Only ten, the first one occurred when she was three," Rin answered. Rikku caught on about what Paine was doing and quickly continued her story.

"The curse was why we practically locked her up in Home. That way she could be around people that the crest wouldn't attack. …But if we left her alone long enough she would try to run away." Rin stopped in front of a bedroom that was destroyed by a large metal door. Across from it was a hole in the steel wall leading outside. The edges of the hole clearly showed that the metal was melted off. Gippal touched the sides of the opening while scowling at the damage.

"I made sure the walls were made with anti-curse charms imbedded in them. How was she able to break through?"

Rikku shrugged and guessed, "Maybe she had some kind of dispel charm?"

"You're finding this funny aren't you?" Gippal accused when he heard her hold back a giggle.

"A little…It's not everyday you mess up this bad." Rikku squealed when Gippal grabbed her and messed up her hair in response to her comment.

"Why do you lock her up in Home now? Not many people dislike the Al Bhed anymore so wouldn't it be safe for her leave?" Tidus wondered as Rikku struggled get away from Gippal.

"Even so, she still believes that the world would be better off without her and would die willingly at hands of fiends," Rin sighed as Shinra, Brother, and Buddy came in through the hole.

"There is also no guarantee that she might not run into someone who still holds a grudge against the Al Bhed," Shinra added before he started inspecting the damage in the bedroom.

"We seem to be forgetting the fact that someone kidnapped her. Someone out there wants her power," Lulu stated as she handed Vidina to Wakka and looked over the damage with Shinra.

Gippal finally put Rikku down as he glanced in Lulu's direction, "I don't think anyone kidnapped her… at least not yet. The hole in this wall is definitely caused by Nadie's curse, not by some bomb."

"I don't know about you guys, but I think we should search for her now before it's too late," Yuna ordered.

"Then let's move out!" Brother shouted enthusiastically before glaring at Gippal, "…except for Gippal he's not allowed on the ship."

"Brother!" Rikku scolded as she hit him in the back of his head.

----------------------------------------------------

The end of the Thunder Plains was in sight and no one has attacked so far. Nooj briefly glanced at the strange girl in the corner of his eye and wondered why he was going out of his way to help her.

_"Probably because I'm getting nowhere with my own problem,"_ he reasoned in his mind. He also wondered why she was able to immediately trust him right after she was chased by bandits. It was possible that she knew him, but he was sure he never met her before. Then again, he was famous now and nearly all of Spira knew who he was.

"You're Nooj of the Youth League, right?" she finally asked, confirming his thoughts.

"Yes, that's right. What's your name?"

"My name is Nadeshia… I'm a deathseeker, like you."

Nooj raised an eyebrow. She looked too serious to be joking.

"You're too young to be thinking about death," he replied. He nearly laughed when he remembered that Gippal used to say the same thing to him years ago.

"I know, but I have my reasons," she mumbled while picking at her glove.

"If you were really a deathseeker, then you wouldn't have been running away from those bandits," he said before wiping the rain water off of his face.

"They were not going to kill me, they only wanted to torture me."

She stared out in the distance before facing Nooj, "Wanna know why I didn't want to go to the Moonflow?"

Nooj noticed that she sounded a little happier now, but he didn't bother to respond as she decided to tell him anyway.

"I didn't want to go there because my father would have me locked up in my room until Home was finished. Now that I'm free, I want to try to find a purpose in life, so I can stop being a deathseeker," she explained with a small smile on her face. Nooj bit back a chuckle. It sounded like a naïve idea coming from a child. No one can easily rebuild their life and forget their past regrets and crimes, but then again, no one said it was impossible. Baralai was able to continue living after the defeat of Vegnagun without showing signs of depression. Nooj knew what it was like to be controlled by a 1000 year old ghost. Baralai should have reacted the same way he did when he was released from Shuyin, but no, he returned to Bevelle, told his secret crush that he loved her, and continued to live his life. What was it that Baralai had that Nooj did not?

"Is that even possible?" he wondered while he glanced at her.

"I don't know, but it wouldn't hurt to find out."

-----------------------------------------------------------

This chapter is dedicated to the word 'octopus' because without it, the argument probably could've made sense. Thanks for the good reviews everyone! I'll try to update sooner, but first I'll need my school to burn down so I can stop receiving homework. Before I go, I need to point out to the people who have seen InuYasha (actually this message is mostly for Sorceress Ki and my spell checkers) that Miroku and Nadie's cursed hands are NOT related. Nadie was created in my mind way before I knew of Miroku's existence.


	4. Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

I'M BACK! I'm sorry for the long wait, but school, novels, and other fics get in the way sometimes. But never fear, I will not give up on this fic! Thanks again for all the great reviews! They really keep me going! Now before I go, I need to say that I do not own FFX-2 or any of its characters. Enjoy! BTW, Nooj and Leblanc fans rejoice, I have a scene about them in this chapter!

Chapter 3

Paine and Baralai waited in the cabin area of the Celsius, babysitting Vidina while Wakka, Tidus, and Gippal searched around the Thunder Plains for traces of either Nooj or Nadeshia. Yuna, Lulu, Rikku, Shinra, and Brother surveyed the damage in Nadeshia's room.

"Most of her stuff is missing, so it's safe to say that either the bandits stole it or she was planning to run away this whole time," Shinra guessed while taking notes.

"She really didn't want to get married did she?" Rikku muttered as Brother searched around the bed.

Yuna looked up at the mentioning of marriage, "Who was she going to marry?"

"Me, actually," Shinra answered calmly. Lulu raised her eyebrow.

"You seem awfully calm about this."

"We don't like each other in that way, but we figured that if we couldn't find anyone else, then we should go through with it when I turn 13. It's probably why she ran away, so she could see the world and meet new people."

"So where do the bandits fit in?" Yuna asked over the strange desperate noises that Brother was making. No one wanted to know what he was doing so they ignored him.

But before Shinra could say 'I'm just a kid', Lulu surmised, "They must have been waiting for her to try to escape."

"You mean they have been waiting all this time for-" Rikku paused as she watched Brother digging through a hole in Nadie's mattress. She assumed he made the hole which meant, "Get off of Nadie's bed sicko!"

She launched a flying kick to his side, causing him to topple off the bed.

* * *

Baralai chuckled as he lifted the baby high into the air and back down to the ground. Vidina laughed and gurgled as he tried to stand on wobbly little legs.

"Careful, you might get attached to him," Paine warned from her seat. His gaze slowly traveled up from Vidina to her as an idea formed in his head. Maybe he could ask her now. They were alone except for the baby and both Rikku and Gippal were too busy to bother them.

Thinking his words carefully in his mind, he said in an almost quiet voice, "Have you ever thought about what it would be like to start a family?"

Paine looked shocked at his question before raising an eyebrow in curiosity, "No, not really."

"Why?"

"Because it would be a pain. They usually cry and fuss and even if the baby was a quiet type, I'd probably not be able to take good care of it. I'd be too busy fighting, it _is_ a dangerous world after all."

"You think so?" he inquired casually before helping Vidina back on his feet after his attempt to walk, "I wouldn't mind having a son or daughter who could change the world if he or she sets their mind on it. Now that Sin and Vegnagun are gone, Spira isn't so dangerous anymore and even if it was, our children would end being as strong as we are."

Paine let out a small smile, "I can't imagine myself as a mother anytime soon. …What brought this on Baralai?"

"Well, I've been meaning to ask you if-" he stopped when he noticed Vidina was walking for the first time. Taking one wobbly step at a time, he slowly made it across the room to where Paine sat and looked up at her expectantly. She had no clue on what to do, but ended up hesitantly picking him up and sitting him on her lap.

"I think you could be a fine mother," a soft voice said from the doorway. They turned to find a dripping wet Lulu, "…Those were his first steps."

Baralai scratched the back of his head nervously, "Lulu, how long have you been standing there?"

She smiled warmly as she walked over to Paine and picked up her baby, "We have found the bandit stronghold in the middle of the Thunder Plains. They need your help."

"Do they know if the girl is in there?" Baralai asked as he grabbed his staff and handed Paine her sword.

"No, there are too many bandits guarding the area to tell, but we found evidence of her curse on the towers."

"Let's go, Baralai!" Paine said before running out the door with him following close behind. When they reached the elevator, she couldn't help but ask, "What were you going to say a moment ago?"

"Uh…er…I'll tell you later. This may be more important."

* * *

There was a secret underground passage beside a charred, but still functional lightning tower that led to a room with a three way fork. When Paine and Baralai arrived, the only person that was left waiting for them was Wakka. He looked up from the pile of unconscious bandits as they approached.

"'Ey guys, been waitin' for ya," he greeted, "Tidus and Yuna went down the left tunnel and Gippal and Rikku went down the right one…"

"So that means were taking the middle one right?" Paine guessed.

"Yup!" Wakka confirmed as he sauntered over to the entrance of the passage, "Maybe this one will lead us to where Nadie is kept or maybe it will take us to the leader of this joint."

The walls looked liked they were just constructed as some sanded stalagmite and stalactite were detected beside the torches. Who ever made the tunnels also put red carpet on the ground, making it seem like they were in a castle. The middle tunnel was full of rather surprised bandits. It didn't seem like they were expecting Wakka and the others do they were defeated easily. There was even an awkward moment when they ran across a shower area and encountered three bandits in towels.

"…That's…attractive…" Paine muttered when they flashed their tighty whities as they dropped their towels in search of weapons.

After traveling two miles down the tunnel, they came across another fork, one that led forward while the other led back. There were even less bandits down here.

"Does anyone else think it's strange that the security is very lax?" Baralai wonder before they heard voices and footsteps coming from the passage leading back.

"Someone's coming!" Paine whispered as Wakka stepped forward.

"Stand back." He took careful aim and threw his blitzball into the dark corridor. Sure enough, there was a loud thunk followed by an "Ow!".

"Huh? We're being attacked?" a familiar female voice shouted before it let out a shrill battle cry. Paine raised her sword up just as two daggers came down upon her.

"Paine?" the blonde attacker squeaked with wide green eyes.

"Rikku?" she retuned, equally as surprised. Baralai watched as Gippal appeared from the darkness with one hand rubbing a sore spot on his head and the other holding Wakka's blitzball.

"Gippal?" he asked, catching his attention

"Baralai?"

Wakka shifted his gaze from Paine and Rikku to Gippal and Baralai as he felt a little left out, "Wakka?"

They stared at him with confusion written on their faces until Rikku giggled sheepishly, "Oh yeah, you're here too. Hi Wakka."

"I believe this belongs to you," Gippal said as he gave him back his weapon.

"Uh, sorry 'bout that, ya?"

"Okay so the middle and right tunnels connect together. I wonder if we'll meet Yunie and Tidus further down." Rikku wondered.

"There is only one way to find out," Baralai said before heading towards the unexplored corridor.

No more bandits bothered them this time as the path sloped downward. It was getting cooler as they travel further. Eventually they reached a metal door at the end. Gippal walked over to it and jiggled the handle as Wakka examined it.

"Yup, it's locked," Gippal announced.

"Then there's only one way in, ya?" Wakka added before he and Gippal started grinning and faced Rikku.

"Rikku?" They asked in unison.

Rikku cracked her knuckles and smirked manically, "Don't need to ask me twice! …Hiya!"

She kicked the door down skillfully, causing it to fall with a loud boom. As the dust gathered in the air, Baralai and Paine rushed past her with their weapons ready. By the time everyone was in, they found an Al Bhed man who looked suspiciously like Rin in front of a wooden door. The man pulled out a smoke grenade, dropping the key he had in the door in the process, and called for his guards before sending out a smoke screen. When the smoke cleared, over forty bandits were circled around them.

"And it was all so easy 'til now," Wakka sighed before the guards attacked.

This batch was stronger than all the bandits they faced before. Of course after Sin and Vegnagun, they were no problem, but there were so many of them, that they tired out quickly. Each managed to bring down four bandits and the only injury that occurred was when one of guards snuck up behind Paine and cut her in the arm. Baralai stopped him before he could strike again. Fatigue was beginning to settle on the team by the time the twentieth bandit fell. Twenty more to go. Suddenly Rikku and Paine had an idea and pulled out their dresspheres. Rikku transformed into the Dark Knight and prepared to cast Darkness while Paine put on the Alchemist dressphere and prepared to pull a megalixer. When Darkness finished charging up, the remaining bandits vanished and Paine was able to restore everyone before they did their victory poses.

"Thank you."

"Come again!"

Gippal shouldered his machina with an annoyed look on his face.

"How can us guys have any fun when you girls take the lime light by using those dresspheres…" he paused slightly, "Hey Rikku, put on that Lady Luck one I head about."

She glared at him as he chuckled and ran a hand through his hair nervously. Paine noticed Baralai staring at her strangely when 'Lady Luck' was mentioned.

"Don't you get any ideas," she warned in a threatening tone, earning a way too innocent look on his face.

"What do you mean?"

Wakka cleared his throat before she could reply and held up the key the man dropped. They walked over to door and waited for Wakka to unlock it.

"Did anyone else notice that the guy who was in here looked a lot like Rin?" Rikku pointed out as Wakka battled with the old lock.

"Yeah, he and many other Al Bhed men," Gippal responded, "The fact that he is Al Bhed would explain how the bandits were able to get this close to Nadie if they kidnapped her before she tried to run away."

"But he looked like a carbon copy!" she argued.

"Even so, why would Rin kidnap his own daughter?" Baralai inquired as Paine crossed her arms.

"And why would he send us to search for her if he did it?" Paine added.

"I don't know. Rin almost got away with framing me on the Mi'ihen Highroad when all the machina went crazy. …Now that I think about it, he must be who Nadie takes after the most," Rikku explained. Wakka was finally able to unlock the door and peered inside quickly.

"It seems that this is his bedroom or somethin'. Maybe Nadie is in there, ya?"

"Possibly…but it would be too easy," Paine muttered as Wakka cautiously opened the door.

Inside was a well furnished bedroom with a canopy bed, mahogany tables, and a matching mahogany door at the other end of the room. But instead of finding a young captive girl, they found a really ill Yuna lying on the bed with a very worried Tidus watching over her. Apparently the left tunnel lead to this room.

"Yunie! What happened?" Rikku inquired worriedly as she ran up to the bed.

"She said she felt sick to her stomach before she passed out," Tidus explained frantically.

"Yuna? Aw man, Lu's gonna kill me if somethin' bad happened to her!" Wakka said as he felt Yuna's forehead for a temperature. Gippal quickly pulled out his communicator and contacted the Celsius.

"Brother! Get a stretcher out here now! Buddy, call a doctor!" he ordered.

"Ruf syho desac tu E ryja du damm oui? (How many times do I have to tell you?) I am the leader! I give the orders!" Brother screamed angrily through the communicator. Rikku let out a disgusted sigh before she tore the device out of Gippal's hands.

"Hey 'leader'! Yunie's sick and needs help! Do as he says!"

"Yuna's in trouble! I am on my way!"

There was a moment of silence as Paine helped Wakka with the check up. There was no high temperature, no sweating, and no shivering. She seemed fine.

"She probably stressed herself out from all these missions," Paine guessed before a low rumbling emitted from one of the doorways. Brother was coming.

"Wow, that was fast," Baralai commented.

"Does he still have that crush on Yuna?" Wakka asked Rikku, earning a surprised glance from Tidus.

"Huh?"

"Oh he's over her, but he's still a little overprotective since she's family," Rikku answered casually before Tidus shot up.

"Dude, he's her cousin! Don't you find that a little disturbing?"

"Yeah, but everything about Brother is disturbing," Gippal replied calmly before patting Tidus on the back, "Chill out, it's not like Yuna had a crush on him. She was too bent on getting you back to pay attention to other men."

"I'M HERE!" Brother screamed at the top of his lungs as he tripped in the doorway and landed face first on the floor. The stretcher rolled all the way across the room and stopped beside Tidus and Gippal.

* * *

Nooj couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something familiar about this Nadeshia. The rain poured harder before they left the Thunder Plains and washed the mud off of her face. He couldn't figure her out until they arrived at O'aka's shop in Macalania. Nadie asked O'aka politely if there were any rooms available only to have him grow pale and stutter out a friendly greeting before he called Wantz over.

"What's wrong uncle?" he asked O'aka in a whisper as Nadie examined a mirror hanging on the wall.

"Remember that guy I bought this shop from?"

"You mean Mr. Rin?"

Yes, that's his daughter, Nadeshia. Go prepare the best rooms. Quickly now!"

Rin's daughter. Now he remembered. The last time Nooj had seen her was two years ago during the Crimson Squad training. It was also the first time he met Leblanc.

(Flashback)

He was in Bikanel Desert when the troops were allowed a small break from training. With nothing else to do, Nooj actually took up Gippal's offer to go visit Home. It was friendly place, but Gippal had to be nearby to translate for him since he didn't know how to speak Al Bhed yet. It was a rather pleasant visit, ignoring the fact that Gippal continuously joked around and annoyed him greatly. When it was finally time to leave, Nooj stopped by Rin's store to pick up some supplies. He found Rin there with a little girl with large green Al Bhed eyes and light brown hair hiding behind him. She only took one glance at him before she ran out the door. Rin chuckled and apologized for his daughter's rude behavior as he showed his merchandise.

When he was done buying, Nooj tucked his items away and headed out the door, but before he could leave, Nadeshia ran back inside. He could vaguely remember seeing a flash of blonde as he heard a faked gasp and felt a small body push against him, forcing him to fall forward into another person.

"Watch where you are going, love!" a voice snapped. He looked up to find a beautiful pair of angry looking blue eyes glaring at him. Her eyes quickly softened when she got a good look at him.

"Uh, sorry miss," he eventually said after he realized that he was staring at her. No woman, not even Paine, ever caught his attention like that. There was something different about her, the way she acted, that he couldn't help but admire.

"It's alright, just be careful next time." She blushed slightly. Nooj then remembered what caused this mess and turned to face the little beast. Nadie's smirk vanished and her face adopted a worried, guilty look.

"I'm so sorry!" she cried while bowing, "I tripped."

He knew better. He _knew_ she did it on purpose. He soon found that his gaze traveled back to the blonde woman and tried to avert his eyes before he started staring again. Suddenly, two men, one was short and fat and the other was tall and skinny, were running towards them. Ormi and Logos.

"Leblanc!" they shouted in unison before they stooped down to catch their breath. She only glared at them in response.

"I thought I told you two to call me 'Boss' from now on!" she scolded, earning a small chuckle from Nooj.

"Leblanc? That's a nice name."

Leblanc's blush deepened, "Thanks, love. What is your name?'

"My name's Nooj," he replied as he gently grabbed her hand and shook it. Leblanc had a dreamy look on her face before Gippal called out to Nooj in the background.

"Yo Noojster! Let's go!"

"Excuse me, I need to go. It was nice meeting you," he said as he side stepped around her and her goons and limped away to catch up with Gippal. She still had a charming smile on her face when he dared to take a final glance in her direction.

(End Flashback)

"Hey Nooj," Nadie called, pulling his out of his thoughts.

"What is it?"

"Say mirror."

"What?"

Say mirror," she repeated. Nooj just stared at her in confusion.

"Why?"

"Because it's a funny word," she replied, "It makes your lips stick out and the back of your tongue rises at the end of the word… Come on say it!"

"…Mirror…"

"See? Doesn't it feel weird when you say it?"

"If you say so…" he responded, a little tired of her games.

"Humph! You're no fun!" she pouted as she crossed her arms and raised her nose in the air.

"My apologies," he returned as he glared at the ground. Wantz came back to announce that their rooms were ready before running off to his uncle. Nadie bowed to Wantz retreating form and then started to walk to her room.

"Night Noojie," she said as she briefly faced him.

His head shot up in shock, "What did you call me?"

"I just said 'Good night Nooj'…-ie Woojie," she muttered the last part quickly as she ran inside her room and closed the door.

He fought back the urge to scold her. No one calls him that, except his wife. He sighed as he wondered how Leblanc was doing. She was most likely worried about him. The stress can't be good for her or the baby. He should have never gotten involved in her life. Even if he hadn't run away, there would be a point in their lives when he would have to leave, whether it be his death in battle or his past coming back to drive him to suicide. If Nooj had never met Leblanc, then she wouldn't be so unhappy right now. At least that's what he believed.

Nooj sighed once again before he decided to retire for the night. He was certain he was going to have guilt ridden nightmares about Leblanc or memories from his past, but he needed sleep even if it was for a few hours.

* * *

This chapter is dedicated to the word 'mirror' because it truly is a funny word. No, really, it is! Try saying it! ….Anyway, has anyone noticed that in Final Fantasy X, Wantz is O'aka's brother, but in the X-2 walkthrough he's his nephew? I could have sworn he said 'brother' in X-2, but I could be wrong. Well, I'm sticking with nephew for now, since I can't figure out what relation he is to O'aka. Well, c ya next chapter! 


	5. The Burden of Regrets

Sorry for the long wait. I've been obsessed with Star Ocean fics all summer and when I tried to start this chapter, all I could think about was Albel and Nel. Anyway, I've started college and the free time I have outside of home clears my head enough for me to continue writing my other stories so hopefully the updates will come in a little faster.

Disclaimer: Sorceress Myst does not own (insert video game/Anime title) or any of its characters. She especially does not own (insert favorite couple from chosen title), nor does she own (insert form of currency).

Chapter 4

"I need a room, love," a feminine, commanding voice ordered as Nooj stirred from his slumber. His eyes widen in recognition of the woman's voice. Leblanc.

"I only have one room left," O'aka warned with hesitation, "…and it only has one bed."

"Oh, that's alright. They are going to stay outside all night, searching for my Noojie, right boys?"

"…Yes, Boss," her two henchmen muttered miserably. Nooj sat up in bed as he heard two sets of footsteps walking past his room and stopped at the room next to him.

"Here you go miss," Wantz said over the sound of metal keys clanging against each other.

The door let out a creak as it opened before the woman sighed tiredly, "Thanks, love…"

Nooj immediately shot out of bed and limped over to his door in an instant. His wife was here and she had been searching for him this whole time. It made him feel worse as he realized that she was worrying over him when she should worry about her baby. He was about to rush out and knock down her door to confront and comfort her until he remembered why he had left her. He wouldn't be around forever to love and protect her because he was a Deathseeker. He couldn't happily live with her with all the regrets weighing him down. He can't go to her now, he needed to get out before she found him.

Nooj quietly gathered his things and grabbed his cane before heading out the door and knocked on Nadie's door. He soon found it unlocked and walked in to find her in a deep slumber while clutching a small stuffed chocobo tightly in her arms like a little child. He briefly wondered where she had gotten it since he didn't recall her carrying it around before, but then remembered that he wasn't paying much attention to her when they arrived to the Travel Agency. Deciding that getting away from here was more important, he lifted his cane and poked her in the side.

"…Hmm?" she groaned as she opened one green eye.

"We're leaving, let's go," he answered curtly.

"What? Why?" she whined as she slowly got up.

"…Just hurry and follow me." He didn't feel the need to explain to her that he was trying to avoid his wife.

She only blinked at him with bleary eyes before she stood up and stretched before she placed the stuffed toy into a black purse that was camouflaged against the skirt of her dress. Nadie followed him out without any protest as they slipped past O'aka and Wantz and out the door. It was freezing cold as the two headed towards the Calm Lands.

"Um…Nooj?" she called out through her chattering teeth.

"What is it?" he wondered as he briefly glanced back at her.

"Are the bandits coming back?"

"Why would you ask that?"

"I was just wondering why we were leaving so early. I can see why if it's because bandits are coming back and we are trying to put some distance between us."

She was a rather wise and understanding girl at times. Nooj often wondered exactly how old she was because sometimes she'd act like she was seven years old instead of the suddenly mature adult that was following him. Maybe she had a split personality.

"Ey Nooj! I found Nooj!" a voice called from behind. They both turned to find Ormi waddling towards them.

"Hey, I know him," Nadie said with a small smile on her face before waving back at him. Nooj grabbed her wrist and tried to move faster away from the large man. The young girl only glanced back at him with a confused face as she matched his quickened strides.

"There you are! Do you have any idea how worried the Boss is about you?" another man said as he blocked them off from their escape. Logos crossed his arms and sent a rather annoyed glare towards Nooj.

"Ormi and Logos are here?" she asked as she glanced up at Nooj when Ormi caught up to them.

"Do…we know you?" the taller man inquired as he squinted his eyes at her.

"Nah…you guys probably wouldn't remember me. Hey, if they're here, then that must mean Leblanc is here too. Where is she?"

"Oh, she's back at the Travel Agency in Macalania," Ormi responded before Logos lightly hit him on the head while mumbling that he didn't need to answer her. Nadie's eyes widened slightly as she figured out why Nooj had decided to leave and then faced him.

"Nooj? Why?" she whispered before he sighed in frustration.

"I'm trying to help this girl with her problem. Move aside," he ordered as he took a step closer to the two men.

"Not until you go see her," Logos persisted, "Leblanc needs you and it would make her feel better if she knew you were okay."

"Sorry, I can't do that. Please forgive me for what I'm about to do," Nooj muttered, earning perplexed expressions on the goons as they glanced at each other. Soon they found either Nooj's fist or cane knocking them down into the frozen ground before they fell unconscious.

He turned to find Nadie staring at him with a shocked expression. One hand flew up to cover her mouth as her gaze slowly traveled down to the sleeping men. They won't be out for long, so they didn't have much time. Nooj seized her wrist and dragged her stunned form along with him to the Calm Lands. They made it all the way to the Clam Lands when the girl found the strength to yank her wrist out of hid grasp.

"Nooj? Why?" she repeated with tears of frustration, "Your wife is worried about you! Why are you running away?"

"I made a mistake, I shouldn't have married her," he said bitterly. Nadie turned her head away as more tears fell. She looked betrayed.

"But don't you love her?"

"Of course I love her! That's why I'm leaving, to make it less painful for her when I die."

"So you're still a Deathseeker? You're the reason why I started this journey! When you married Leblanc, I thought you changed…" her voice cracked as she bit back her sobbing.

Nooj let out a sigh. This girl was obviously some child who looked up to him a little bit too much. He had a lot of admirers over his life, but Nadie was the first to pretend to be a Deathseeker.

"I'm not the best role model, that was your first mistake," he muttered coldly, "I have lived a life full of regrets, I have a legitimate reason to seek an end to my miserable life, but you…you're only a little girl who has a whole life ahead of you. Drop your act and go home before you worry your father to death."

"You think this is an act? I have lived a life of regrets too, albeit a short life. This crest makes me murder anyone who discriminates the Al Bhed," she explained as she pulled off her glove and revealed a reddish brown crest in the palm of her hand with the words 'dra lnacd uv taydr', "Surely you have heard of the burned corpses found on the Mi'ihen Highroad, Djose, and the Moonflow. They were…my victims."

He had heard of those murders done by what the witnesses called the 'lamenting monster' because the murderer was crying as she took their lives. He found it hard to believe that Nadie was the one who committed those crimes, but the witnesses had described a 'little girl with strange markings in the palm of her right hand.'

"…So you have lived a life of regrets as well," he eventually agreed. It was more a statement then a question, but Nadie nodded solemnly before she put her glove back on and plopped down on the ground.

"But now that I know that moving on is hopeless, I might as well go find a hungry fiend." She then hiccupped as a few quiet sobs escaped her. Nooj felt guilt welling up in his soul. He knew better than to believe her childish ideas, but he had no right to discourage her from trying. After all, she was only a young girl, a part of Spira's future, her life shouldn't be cut short so soon.

* * *

The doctor had been examining Yuna for what seemed like hours. The only other people in there with her were Lulu, Wakka, and their baby. Everyone else was forced to wait in the hallway outside of the cabin area. At first everyone was anxious and quiet until Gippal thought of a word game to keep everyone occupied. Currently, Rikku was playing along as Brother glared at Gippal and the rest ignored them. 

"Light," he mumbled in boredom.

"Bulb!" Rikku shouted excitedly. The game was enough to cheer her up and to make even Baralai annoyed. Paine sighed as she felt a headache forming and briefly wished she was in there with Lulu and Wakka.

"Blitz."

"Ball!"

"Dull."

"Uh…" that made her pause.

"…I win," Gippal smirked as he ruffled the fuming Al Bhed girl's hair.

"Dr. P, wanna play?" he asked across the hallway. He already played and won against Buddy and Baralai. He was running out of victims and Shinra was no where to be found.

"No," she replied immediately.

"Aw, come on," he whined, "I'll let you go first…"

She sighed and rolled her eyes, "Fine…Stupid."

"Idiot."

Paine crossed her arms and glared at some random object, making it look like she wasn't paying attention, "Dark."

"Light."

"Up."

"Down."

"Yours."

"…Huh?"

"Up yours," Paine repeated, leaving him speechless.

"What? Nothing to say to that?" Rikku taunted as everyone else chuckled.

"Looks like Paine won," Baralai commented before he crossed his arms and tried to mimic Paine's persona, "Though I'm sure she didn't think of it as a great victory."

It was enough to get her to crack a smile before she turned away from them. Despite the now lighter mood in the hallway, Tidus was still sitting alone near a corner, sighing ever now and then. There was nothing in the world that would cheer her up until he knew if Yuna was going to be okay. How could anyone laugh when the woman who brought the Eternal Calm was lying in bed, possibly dieing from some deadly disease. It wasn't normal for someone to get sick and pass out suddenly when they were perfectly fine only moments before.

Suddenly, the door hissed open and the doctor (who happened to be a Hypello) quietly walked out, politely bowed to everyone, and then left. Once the doctor was gone, Lulu appeared at the door with Vidina as Wakka followed with a grim and angry expression.

Unable to contain her curiosity and worry, Rikku quickly ran up to them and asked, "How is she?"

"…She will live, but it would be a good idea to take her out of the search party," Lulu replied softly.

"It's probably for the best," Paine agreed as Wakka grunted and slammed his fist into his palm.

"Damn it! Yuna shouldn't be having this, she's too young!"

"Calm down Wakka, there is nothing we can do," his wife reprimanded, careful not to awaken the slumbering baby.

"Yeah, I know," he muttered before he turned an angry gaze towards Tidus, "You better take good care of her now because this is your fault!"

"Me? What did I do?" he wondered frantically, "She's the one who passed out suddenly! I didn't know what to do!"

"Enough!" Lulu yelled now that Vidina was awake.

"Uh, so what is wrong with her?" Gippal inquired as the fight broke away. The black mage could only let out a tired smile.

"It's nothing to worry about. She just needs rest for now."

"That doesn't exactly answer my question…" he mumbled before someone cleared their throat. Everyone turned to find Buddy at the elevator.

"I found Leblanc's goons near the airship. They told me that they spotted Nooj with a girl fitting Nadie's description. They said that they were heading towards the Calm Lands."

"So Nadie is with Nooj?" Rikku inquired wide eyed.

"That makes things easier for us," Paine muttered dryly.

"It also gets more complicated," Buddy continued, regaining their attention, "Ormi and Logos were knocked out by Nooj and when they came to, they went back to Macalania to report to Leblanc, but she was gone."

"Gone?" Baralai said in a confused tone.

"Gone," Buddy confirmed, "They said it was like she vanished into thin air, even O'aka didn't see her leave."

"Weird," Rikku relied.

"Well as much as I dislike the idea of a pregnant woman recklessly running around, Nadie is top priority so we need to get to the Calm Lands and…" Gippal stopped when he heard Brother growling behind him, "Oh, I'm sorry, what do you think _leader_?"

If Brother really did have a crush on Nadie then he knew that Brother would agree with him.

"We are going to the Calm Lands to get Nadie! Move out!"

Good idea, let's go!" Rikku cheered before everyone headed towards the elevator

"Tidus," Lulu called out, making him and the others freeze, "You should stay here. Yuna needs you now more than ever."

Still confused at the grim tone in her voice after she assured constantly that everything was fine, he responded with, "…You're right. I'll stay behind."

Paine glanced back at Lulu, Wakka, and Tidus before the doors closed. She had her suspicions about Yuna's health, but didn't voice them aloud or else it would cause a ruckus. Yuna will tell them what's wrong when she is ready to. There was no need to start rumors.

* * *

He was called 'Nooj the Undying' after he was the sole survivor of a mission to eliminate a mass number of fiends that had accumulated near Mi'ihen Highroad. That mission was how he became what he was today. He used to be happy back then in the Crusaders with his friends and team members. The team consisted of a lively, outgoing young man with dark skin, hazel eyes, and red hair who went by the name of Beccere, the soft-spoken, kind, and friendly man with black hair and dark blue eyes, known as Xakkran, a pale skinned man with dark brown hair and hazel-green eyes named Malikare, and of course, Nooj himself. Nooj used to be young and rash, but he followed orders well and quickly became famous in the ranks through his great fighting abilities. He never considered himself to be a good leader and didn't care to start as everyone agreed that Malikare should be the team leader. He was very charismatic, had wise decisions, and was the oldest of the four. 

When the maesters of Yevon assigned the fateful mission to the Crusaders, Nooj was sent on another mission, by Malikare, to deliver a message to his brother, O'aka, and to his sister, Kurina. Because of this, he was unaware of the battle and ended up arriving too late to save his team members. If he was there an hour sooner, then he would have been able to help them. The maesters didn't bother to send a Summoner for the casualties so before Nooj could lay their bodies to rest, he was forced to fight them when they turned into fiends. When he returned to Bevelle, he was declared a hero and was given rewards. He had long since lost his parents to Sin and the only thing that made him happy were his friends from the Crusaders and now that they were gone, he had no reason to live.

Sure, when he joined the Crimson Squad, he made friends with his new team mates and was a little happier, though he never wanted to admit it. Gippal reminded him of Beccere while both Paine and Baralai had similar traits to Xakkran. This time he was the team leader and he used the same tactics that Malikare used, but made sure to put himself into danger so he could die nobly in battle, but his new team kept interfering. Soon after training, he was caught up in a conspiracy that ended up making him get possessed by a 1000 year old ghost who wanted the world to die. He was forced to betray his team and lose their trust, bringing even more regrets.

He bore so many regrets that he couldn't even look at his wife without feeling guilty. That was why he left her. He couldn't make her happy when he was too focused on his own regrets. Leblanc didn't deserve a husband like that, she deserved better than him. He didn't know much else to do except seek an end to all the pain, but even now there seemed to be someone holding him back; a young Deathseeker who was currently crying before him. Nadie was living by the small chance of overcoming her grief, but now he had easily shot down her hopes and dreams, leaving her to believe that it was truly the end. Nooj had started the Youth League so that the youth of Spira would have a future by learning from it's past and give the downtrodden hope. He couldn't just leave the girl in the state she was in, it would demoralize all he had started with the group.

"Look," he eventually said after a long period of silence, "It maybe too late for me, but you might still be able to accomplish your goal."

"…How?" Nadie asked in a bitter tone. He half expected her to be overjoyed with the news instead of her look of distrust.

"Do you know a man named Baralai?"

"The Praetor of New Yevon? Yeah," she replied while wiping a tear away with the back of her hand.

"He suffered the same fate I did. He was possessed by the same ghost and relived all the pain and suffering the ghost live through as well as take a few lives unwillingly. But for some reason, when he was freed of that curse, he didn't react like we did, instead he continued living."

"So you're saying that he has something that keeps him going?"

He wasn't sure of the answer himself, but it did sound probable, "Most likely, all you have to do is go out there and find out what."

She sniffled before she stood up and dusted off her dress, "A thought just occurred to me after you said that. What do you, me, and the Praetor have in common?"

He only blinked in response. The answer couldn't be Deathseeker because Baralai wasn't one, "…We all have regrets?"

"The whole world has regrets," she replied with a short chuckle, "But why do _we_ have regrets? It's because we all carry the guilt of murdering the innocent. We don't deserve to live or be happy as long as we know that some people won't have the chance to live because of us."

"Well…yes that's true, but what of it? We can't bring them back to life nor could we ever ask for their forgiveness-"

"That's just it, Noojie! If we could apologize and try to find a way to honor them, then maybe we can move on," she said excitedly.

"Don't call me that," he ordered sternly, "…I see what you are trying to say, but even if the Guado will let us in to the Farplane, the people we see are only images created by pyreflies. We can't talk to them and expect a response from them."

"But there is a place at the border of Mt. Gagazet and the Zanarkand Ruins where we could talk to the dead …At least I've heard rumors about it. I'm sure if we go there, the Ronso may know something of it. And maybe when it's all over, even _you_ could be happy."

"I doubt it would be as easy as you're implying."

"Maybe, maybe not, but I do know that there is no one wiser than the dead. They would probably know how the Praetor moved on." There was a childish glint in her eyes, alerting Nooj that the 'seven year old' was back in control of her.

He let out a long sigh, "Fine, I will accompany you to Gagazet, but if nothing is there, then you must return home and let me be."

"Deal!" she shouted joyously with a big smile. Nadie then grabbed his arm and dragged him down the slope to the Calm Lands, "Let's go!"

* * *

"You let her get away?" a tall, tan man with a blonde wig yelled as his minions cowered in fear. 

"We were attacked by the leader of the Youth League!" a bandit cried before he was hit with the wig. Underneath the man's wig was short locks of brown, almost black hair.

"Nooj the Undying? Why was he in the Thunder Plains?" he muttered to himself.

Another bandit with a mask covering his face approached and saluted, "Sir, the girl has not returned to the Moonflow, we think she is heading north instead."

"Then she may be in Bevelle or in the Calm Lands," the first bandit guessed while he smoothed out the synthetic hairs of the toupee and placed it upon a nearby desk.

"Good. Start searching and bring her to me when you find her. If you run into Nooj, don't kill him, a man like him doesn't deserve such a dishonorable death protecting Nadeshia…especially when she has that vile Al Bhed blood in her."

"Right away sir."

"Yes, sir!"

Soon the bandits ran off to do his bidding. The bandit leader then picked up the wig and placed it back on his head before looking into a mirror. He almost looked like an exact copy of the Al Bhed merchant, Rin. Suddenly the dark halls of the room were filled with evil laughter.

* * *

This chapter is dedicated to the word 'bulb'. Why? Even I don't know why. One of my friends told me to write a scene that involved the word and so I did it. On other news, I still couldn't find what relation Wantz is to O'aka and I couldn't find anything on O'aka's sister, but I kinda got the impression that she had already passed away when he mentioned her. Either way his sister is going to be in the story and Wantz is still his nephew. Well, I off to write more fics! C ya next chapter! 


	6. Race to Gagazet

Well, here's another chapter. I'm sorry that the updates are so slow, there are too many distractions like summer, anime, and other games. But on the bright side, when I do update, I'll try to get the new chapters at least over 6,000 words before posting.

As usual I do not own Final Fantasy X-2 or Paine and Baralai…or Gippal and Rikku…or Bahamut…or Valefor… or…I'll shut up now.

Chapter 5

"I see. Well have the guards keep a close eye on them. Report to me if they so much as steal from or harm anyone," Baralai ordered before the soldier on the comsphere saluted. When the team had reached the bridge to take off, Shinra had called Baralai over for an emergency as one of the Bevelle soldiers had contacted them. Apparently there had been an increase of bandit sightings in the city, leaving the citizens in fear for their lives and property. So far there had been no casualties, but one could not be too careful when it came to bandits.

Shinra sat in deep thought as the soldier finished his report. Since everyone had to fight bandits in the Thunder Plains, he began to wonder if the ones in Bevelle were the same ones. Since he had no fighting ability to speak of, he was not allowed off of the ship and thus did not get to see what the enemy looked like. But, if he had a description or maybe a picture of them, then maybe one of the others could identify them.

"Sorry to interrupt, but could you give a description of the bandits?" The soldier stared at him for a moment and then faced the praetor.

When he received a nod from Baralai, he looked at the young Al Bhed boy, "No, none of the security has seen them, we've only received reports from the citizens."

"…I have planted a few comspheres throughout Bevelle that were disconnected by your men. Maybe if you reconnected them, I might be able to catch one of them on screen and be able to give you an idea of what you're searching for," the boy genius suggested.

"That's a great idea, Shinra," Baralai agreed with a nod, "Get to that immediately."

"Yes, sir!" the soldier responded as the comsphere cut off.

"Bandits in Bevelle, huh? It seems that there are a lot of them running around lately," Rikku said with a tired tone in her voice.

"Yeah and it seems no matter how many we fight off, more appear," Paine added.

"I wonder if these are the same ones we fought?" Baralai wondered as he faced the group with his arms crossed.

"If they are, we'll find out soon enough," Shinra replied as he took in the incoming data from the reactivating comspheres.

The next few minutes were spent in silence as the crew waited for the ships engines to warm up. It was only after one minute when everyone realized how unusually still and quiet it was getting outside. There was no sound of rain pelting the metal frame or thunder shaking the ground. There was not even the sound of wind trying to blow down the mighty Celsius. The hair-raising atmosphere easily made the team anxious while Rikku unconsciously drifted closer to Gippal. Soon there was a loud bang that resulted in a high pitched squeak from the Al Bhed girl before she jumped into Gippal's arms.

"What is going on?" Paine wondered as the bang was replaced with pounding and cries for help. Her crimson eyes drifted over to Buddy as he moved the camera image of outside to the main screen.

"It's Ormi and Logos…"

"What do _they_ want?" Brother squealed as he hung off his seat in an awkward position, " ... Ruf tyna drao lusa buihtehk uh uin tuun du clyna buun Shinra! (How dare they come pounding on our door to scare poor Shinra!)

The mentioned boy genius slowly gave the pilot a scrutinizing gaze, "As I recall, I wasn't the one sitting cross legged in my seat while sucking my thumb and muttering 'susso' (mommy)…"

Rikku suddenly glanced up when she heard Gippal clear his throat and was met with a teasing smile. She then chuckled nervously before squirming out of his arms, but his arms remained around her waist long after her feet touched the ground. Thankfully this had gone unnoticed by the ever oblivious 'leader'.

"Uh…so what should we do?" Buddy inquired when no one else had a comment.

"Oh just leave them. They are probably trying to mooch a ride off of us so they wouldn't have to walk," Rikku responded dryly.

"Really? In my opinion they look awfully terrified of something," Baralai said as he examined the goons on the screen. By now Paine was looking past the screen and off into the distance where she discovered something in the horizon…

"Quick, let them in!" Her outburst earned her surprised looks from all around, but Buddy got the message and immediately did as he was told. Ormi and Logos started squeezing in once they saw a small opening, not even bothering to wait for the door to open completely.

Sensing Paine's distress, Baralai came up beside her and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Look out there into the horizon," she said as she pointed the area out. His gaze followed her finger and onto the landscape of the Thunder Plains before he let out a gasp.

"Bandits!"

"How many are there?" Rikku shouted as she broke away from Gippal's grasp and ran to the railing.

"From what can I see from the comsphere…a lot," Shinra answered.

"Buddy! Brother! We need to get airborne, now!" Gippal commanded with urgency as the two started struggling with the controls.

"We may have some problem with that," Buddy warned with a backward glance, "The ship hasn't finished warming up and she doesn't like to fly cold."

But before Gippal could make a retort, Brother jumped up in his seat and turned on the intercom to warn everyone on the ship, "Grab on to something because this will be a bumpy ride! …YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

The Celsius lurched as if protesting, but soon the engines roared to life and the large metal bird slowly arose from the ground. Everyone who was standing promptly lost balance and fell on their bottoms. Brother let out a grin of victory as he was about to make the ship zoom off into the sky, but the thrill was short lived when the ship jerked. Something was holding the ship to the ground like an anchor, preventing it from flying. This time everyone in their seats was ejected onto the floor, except for Brother who was thrown head first into the window. Luckily his thick skull didn't break the glass.

Baralai struggled to get up while helping Paine get to her knees when the lights suddenly went off, "Now what?"

"There's something tied to the ship keeping us down! Also we lost one of the generators which is why the lights went out," Shinra explained once he was able to crawl back into his seat. Gippal managed to stand, but was still a bit wobbly as he staggered over to Buddy.

"Is Brother alright?"

"I dunno, the impact seemed to have knocked him out," Buddy replied over Brother's comatose form as Gippal sat down in Buddy's station.

"Buddy, take the wheel!" he ordered as he pushed a few buttons, "Ormi, Logos, I know you're still down there! In exchange for a safe ride out of here, cut us free from what ever is holding us back."

"_R-right!"

* * *

_

It was a nice warm day in the Calm Lands. The sky was clear and the breeze felt great to the people who were already out playing games. The attractions gained a lot of popularity thanks to Yuna's advertising, leaving everyone too distracted to notice the girl in a long black dress who was followed by the crippled figurehead of the Youth League as they gradually made their way across the vast plane. Nooj continued to walk forward, not even bothering to glance at the people while Nadie took in all the sights and sounds with excitement.

"Hey Nooj. When this is all over, do you think we can come back here to play some games?"

"What makes you so certain that we will find what we are looking for?" he countered tersely.

"I dunno, but it's something to look forward to if we do find it. …And why just us? We should bring Leblanc, Logos, and Ormi too! I'm sure they would love to play some of the games here. Hehe, you could win your wife a stuffed moogle!" Nadie replied while eyeing the prize booth.

Nooj only let out a sigh. Sometimes he wondered if the girl was really a Deathseeker, "…Let's just focus on the task at hand."

"Okay…" she mumbled dejectedly, "Logos probably cheats anyway."

They continued walking and were still not even halfway across the Calm Lands. Nadie occasionally skipped happily, her demeanor matching the mood of her surroundings, not at all like the girl who was crying in defeat only hours ago. With the way she acted, he could not help but feel that he was being tricked into going to Mt. Gagazet.

"For a Deathseeker, you seem awfully happy."

Suddenly she stopped and slowly faced him with a small sad smile, "I'm glad you think that, I do try to seem happy so that the people around me won't feel obligated to pity me or try to waste their time in making me happy."

And just like that, the 'seven year old' was gone.

"But…" she continued at the look of confusion on his face, "I have a feeling you are referring to my …I guess you would call it a 'split personality.' My father once took me to an Al Bhed shrink and he explained that I act like a child sometimes to compensate for the childhood that I lost."

Made sense, after all, a lot of people lost their childhood when Sin destroyed their family and friends. He had too. But even a psychological disorder like hers could be corrected with counseling. Why hadn't it worked?

"Hasn't your …doctor come up with a way to stop it?" he wondered with genuine interest.

"I didn't want one. Now that I am aware of it, I can control it and as long as I don't go overboard, like throwing temper tantrums, I figured that it is for the best. People are happy when they see me cheerful and I don't want that to change," she explained with her eyes on the gently waving grass, "You know, in a sense, I'm not like you at all. I became a Deathseeker because I had to. I don't really want to die and leave my family behind, but as long as I have this curse, I can't guarantee that the smiling faces I see today will be smiling tomorrow. I might make them cry…or worse, I might kill them."

"So in other words, you want to die in order to protect the people you love, is that it? Then why is it you want to go to Gagazet?"

"I still want to apologize to the people I've killed and hopefully be forgiven, but also, I'm hoping to find someone who knows how to get rid if the curse. That way I can live on without fear."

"You're right, you're not like me. You still want to live."

"But still at the same time, I _am_ like you because even if the curse was gone I will forever remember the look of the people I've destroyed. And if there was a way to get rid of the curse, it will make me feel worse because that means I could have prevented the deaths if I had acted sooner. …But I also don't want to leave because I have fallen in love with life…and the people within it… This is just one big mess. I don't know where to start or where to end, I'm so confused. All I know is if I don't find the answers then I'll go…"

"Crazy," he finished for her, "I know the feeling. I don't want to live without my friends and family, but at the same time I don't want to leave or drag my wife into this. I'm pretty sure that it's this confusion that will drive us into suicide …and that's why they call us Deathseekers. Now that I understand you better, let's go to Gagazet and see if we can find those answers."

A slow surprised smile found its way on her face, perhaps the first genuine smile she ever made, "Okay, let's go!"

When they started walking again, they realized that they still had a long way to go…

* * *

"Toodles, loves! I have other places to go!" Leblanc shouted in the rushing wind towards her pursuers. Somewhere deep down, she felt bad about leaving her goons behind without at least a message, but unfortunately these men had made her change plans. The minute she had sneaked out of O'aka's inn, she had been surrounded by bandits demanding that she surrender and go with them. Well they were not going to interfere in her search for her husband, so they would just have to deal with it. …Needless to say she had given them all the 'heel' and escaped on her machina bike. 

The machina bike was a wedding present given to her by the entire syndicate after they spent grueling weeks in the Bikanel Desert digging it up. While Ormi and Logos had a hard time keeping up with her, the bike proved useful and saved a lot of time traveling across Spira. It was also proving useful now as the motors of the machina were too fast for the men to catch up. But unfortunately the feeling of victory was short lived when more bandits managed to block the bike with some rope across the trees.

Leblanc was launched off her bike with a short scream and then quickly rolled on the ground to prevent injury. She may have been three months pregnant, but she still was able to move around and get out of situations with the grace of a cat. …She only hoped that this action didn't end up damaging her baby. With a groan, she slowly got up as the bandits surrounded her. She wasn't too bad off, only a few scratches and a major headache. She unconsciously placed a hand over her belly and prayed that nothing happened to her precious gift.

"Persistent, aren't you loves?" she taunted dryly as she slowly backed away from the men.

"Leblanc, please cooperate with us. We only need your assistance in getting your husband to give us the girl he's protecting," one of the bandits in the front, quite possibly the leader of this pack, started. This startled her and brought some excitement into her body.

"Noojie? Where is he? Is he alright?" Most of the men jerked in surprise at her tone as the leader cleared his throat.

"He's heading towards Mt. Gagazet as we speak. And he is alright for now, but if he continues to defy us, we will have to take some action."

She considered this for a moment. It sounded like her Noojie was in trouble, but she wasn't sure how. …And who was this 'girl' he's protecting?

"Alright then, before I consider your proposal, I would like to hear more about this, love."

"Very well then. We are searching for a 15 year old girl named Nadeshia." Suddenly Leblanc noticed a small change in the man's features as he continued, "And she is a cold blooded murderer…she walks around acting like a Deathseeker trying to overcome her problems and kills people who get close enough to her. The fact that she's parading around as a Deathseeker is probably why Nooj felt obligated to help her."

One thing Leblanc knew ever since she had started her syndicate was when people were lying. Many of the people asking to join usually told lies to cover up their past and she knew it, but let them in anyway. This man was obviously lying about this girl and if Nooj was helping her, then it was probably because she was a victim.

"_So like my Noojie Woojie to help out those in need!"_ she sighed dreamily in her mind, "…So where do I fit in, love?"

"Though it doesn't seem like it, Nooj is like a hero to most of us and we don't want to fight him." Well he appeared to be telling the truth now, "If he knew we had you in our custody, then he will give the girl to us in exchange for your safety."

"Oh I see. Avoid needless bloodshed and everyone goes home happy. I get to see my Noojie Woojie again and you'll have your …murderer." Leblanc began pacing slightly, acting as if she were deep in thought over this. How nice of them for giving her the option to go peacefully or by force.

"That does seem like the perfect plan to me, but…" she paused and then pulled out her fan to begin her attack, "…I don't plan on being his downfall!"

* * *

"Are we there yet?" Nadie whined in a true child-like fashion. People were laughing and shouting all around them, all seemed to be having a great time with not a care in the world. Were it not for the fact that everyone ran in front of them and blocked their way and the fact that Nooj couldn't walk as fast with his handicap then they would have already been at the end of the Calm Lands. 

"No, it doesn't appear that we are," he replied calmly, not yet annoyed by her new 'game'.

"If only we had a faster way of getting across…" she sighed once they were finally freed of another crowd.

"Hey, that's a cute stuffed Chocobo you have there," a youthful voice said from above. Nooj and Nadie stopped instantly and found a dark skinned girl on top of a Chocobo looking down on them.

"Huh?"

"That stuffed Chocobo in your purse. I couldn't help but notice it," she girl continued as she pointed at the head of the stuffed toy. Somewhere along the way Nadie's toy had managed to poke through the opening of her purse for all to see.

"Oh him?" she pulled out the Chocobo for the girl and held it out, "This is Lryuc Ehcyhedo. A close friend gave him to me."

"Aww how cute! I just love Chocobos," she girl squealed as she held the toy.

"Hmm a real Chocobo fan," Nooj commented in a monotone voice.

Suddenly it struck Nadie that this girl was familiar, "Say, by any chance, is your name Calli?"

"Hmm? Yes, I am," she replied, "How did you know?"

"I've heard stories from Rikku and Gippal about their journey and you were mentioned often."

"Really?" she nearly exclaimed, causing Nadie to raise an eyebrow, "…Has Brother said anything about me?"

Nadie shook her head, earning a downcast look from Calli, "No, not a word."

"Oh…"

Oh? The half Al Bhed girl glanced up. Did that mean Calli actually _liked_ Brother? _Someone_ actually _likes_ Brother? How…impossible! But…there _is_ someone out there for every one and Brother shouldn't be an exception…just like how Nadie wasn't an exception either, but the subject of boys would have to wait until a better point in her life.

"On second thought, he _did_ mention a cute girl staying in the cabin of the Celsius," she added, knowing full well that Brother wasn't talking about Calli at the time he said it. It took a second for the information to sink in before Calli's cheeks burned and she let out a short giggle. So it _was_ true. Calli did like Brother, Nadie could sense the connection. As a pretend matchmaker she couldn't let this opportunity slip by! If everything turned out okay and she was freed of her curse, the first thing Nadie wanted to do was to cross out all the suitors on her father's list. Gippal was already taken cared of, thanks to her pranks to get him together with Rikku, and Buddy didn't want a wife so young so he refused the offer. All that was left was Shinra and Brother and while Shinra may be hard to cross off, her opportunity to get Brother off the list was now getting to be easier. If she didn't take action now, then who knows how long it would be before another girl came along? In fact Nadie may end up getting married to him instead of Shinra if she waited too long.

"I hate to interrupt, but we need to cross quickly," Nooj urged from behind.

"Oh, sorry. I'll just be on my way then. Nice to meet you…uh…"

"Nadie," she said as Calli gave back the stuffed toy. As funny as it sounded, Lryuc Ehcyhedo was going to be the tool to set up Calli and Brother, which meant that she would have to give away her treasure. A very close friend, one who she would never want to forget, had given her the stuffed Chocobo and she was going to deeply miss the toy.

She gave the stuffed Chocobo a quick hug before calling out, "Wait Calli!"

"What is it?"

"How about a trade? Lryuc Ehcyhedo in exchange for us borrowing your Chocobo. We'll give him back once we reach the end of the Calm Lands."

The tan skinned girl directed her bird back to them, "Are you sure you want to give me something so precious?"

"We need to get across quickly…and chances are that a fiend may get a hold of him in Mt. Gagazet, so it would be better if you had him," Nadie explained with her eyes to the ground. Calli jumped down and took the toy from her outstretched arms.

"Okay, thank you. I will take good care of Lryuc for you."

"Please do, he means a lot to me. …And thank you for the trade."

"You're welcome. Well I should go, take care." After that, the dark skinned girl disappeared into the crowds.

"Frankly I have no clue what just happened, but at least you found a way to get across," Nooj commented as he grabbed the reins, "Get on."

"Huh? What are you doing?" she inquired once she was securely seated on the saddle.

"I'm going to lead the Chocobo across."

"That's okay, I know how to ride, even side saddle. I got this bird so that you wouldn't have to walk Noojie."

"…What have I told you about calling me that?"

"Something about 'not on Tuesdays'…Anyway, get on yourself so we can go," she said while shaking her head and facing the direction of Gagazet. 'Not on Tuesdays'? Was this her childish side speaking or did she just tune him out when he spoke?

As if sensing his thoughts she glanced at him while taking the reins from him, "Oh come on, it was a joke! I'll try to stop calling you by that nickname. Now stop stalling and get on."

"I can't ride," he replied instantly.

"Aw, why not?" Nooj only stared down at the metal appendage that was his leg in response.

"Please." Nadie rolled her eyes, "You're not as lame as you're making it out to be. Gippal told me that you're still able to climb up cliffs and stuff. I bet you don't even need that cane!"

"…I do need it…this is the only metal replacement that anyone could find, but it's shorter than my actual leg so I need it to balance."

"Then why…? Oh I get it. You've never been on a Chocobo before. Don't worry about it. To tell you the truth, this is my second time on one. The last time was when I was moving to the Moonflow."

He gently shook his head, "It's not that."

"Then what?" She was met with silence. The reason was…he had promised that he'd take Leblanc on a Chocobo ride. But what was the point? No use regretting now, otherwise he'd never be cured. Nadie was about to open her mouth to say something else when she felt him climb on behind her. Once his cane was in front of her belly and his hands were tightly gripping it, she lightly kicked the bird's side to make him go.

They were making better time now as the crowds parted so they wouldn't be kicked by the long claws of the Chocobo. It seemed as if nothing could stop them now as they approached the bridge that led to Mt. Gagazet, but then a slight rumble from the ground made the riding bird skid to a halt about a good sixty feet away from their destination.

"What was that?" Nadie wondered as she calmed the frightened overgrown chicken.

"It sounded like an explosion…" Nooj looked around and then found the cause flying over the direction of the Thunder Plains, "There!"

"Oh no, it's the Celsius! If they find me, we'll never get to where we want," she cried before she was about to urge the Chocobo forward. Nooj calmly placed his hand on her shoulder and told her to look again.

The red airship looked like it was struggling to stay in the air as some rope or a chain (that appeared to be string because of the distance) snapped off of it. Suddenly there were more explosions that glowed and sparkled like firecrackers as it hit the Celsius before strange objects began flying up to the ship. Considering how far they were, it was hard to determine what the objects were, but they seemed like they were people on propellers.

"They're…in trouble? …We'd better go back and help them!"

"No, they can handle it," Nooj insisted sternly.

"But-!" she protested until she noticed that he was staring at the entrance of the Calm Lands where the men who had chased her were beginning to head down the slope, "…Right, they can handle it."

"Let's hurry before they catch up," he ordered, earning a nod from the girl in front of him.

* * *

Ormi and Logos did a good job of keeping the bandits out of the ship while working on the chain that bound the ship to a sturdy lightning tower. Shinra kept the rest of the bandits back with the ship's long forgotten weapons system. Soon they were freed and Brother was back on his feet and back in the pilot's seat, but before they could take off, the bandits had finally gained some artillery and began firing at the Celsius. 

"Ignore it, just get us out of here!" Gippal commanded to Brother.

"Nekrd (Right)!" Everyone nearly fainted. Did Brother just obey an order from Gippal? How hard had he hit his head? The surprise was short lived when the ship rocked and jerked again.

"We've been hit by a cannonball! And they tried to anchor us down again, but it wasn't strong enough this time," Shinra informed from his post. It wasn't long before another explosion rocked at the side of the Celsius followed by the sounds of boots hitting metal.

"Security breach! There are intruders on the deck!" Buddy yelled as he frantically typed coded instructions to the panel.

"What? How are they getting up there when we're this high up?" Gippal inquired while heading over to Shinra. The young Al Bhed boy pulled up a screen of the deck, showing several men wearing some type of flying machina landing.

Rikku, who was already near the door, pulled her daggers from their sheaths, "I'll stop them!"

"I'm coming with you!" Gippal shouted to her retreating form and chased after her with his machina gun.

"Yuna and the others don't even know what going on, maybe you should contact them," Paine suggested to Brother once the two were gone.

"Intercom is down…" he said sadly with a shake of the head. He then slammed his fist down in despair, "E tuh'd ghuf fryd du tu! Cusauha ramb ic! (I don't know what to do! Someone help us!)"

Even though Shinra knew that Paine knew Al Bhed, he easily translated it into a few words, "He's scared. …I don't blame him though since the last time we were in a mess like this, Home was-"

"Don't finish that sentence. It was in the past and it's not going to happen to us again," Buddy interrupted in a stern voice.

Paine shook her head and sighed before heading back to Baralai, "I'm going to go down to the cabin area and tell them what's happening."

"Alright, I'll stay here and protect the crew in case some bandits get past Gippal and Rikku. …Be careful," he replied softly as he touched her shoulder and gave her a light kiss behind her ear.

"You be careful too."

"Paine wait," he called out before she was out the door. He might as well get it over with, even if Shinra and the others were around, "I …uh…"

She smirked before he had the chance to reach into his pocket, "Again? You sure do pick the strangest of times to try to tell me what you've been hiding from me."

"Well…I may not get another chance-"

"WILL YOU HURRY UP AND TELL YUNA?" Brother screamed from behind, seeming to be back to normal. Despite the ruined moment, Baralai grinned and let his hand fall back to his side.

"I know, 'later'," she said with a roll of her eyes before he could and then disappeared from sight.

She already had the opportunity to let Rikku tell her what Baralai wanted to say to her, but declined the offer. She knew he'd get the courage to do it eventually and she had enough patience to not let her curiosity get the better of her. As she made her way to the elevator, she realized that just Gippal and Rikku may not be enough to stop all the bandits that were up there and that the ones that sneaked past them could come down. The machine was programmed to come directly to the bridge from the deck. Her fears were confirmed when the elevator began moving on its own.

She froze in her tracks when five bandits came out. While she may have been able to handle them by herself, she didn't want to take any chances as she faced the entrance to the bridge, "Baralai!"

He quickly ran out, his staff ready to fight, as she readied her sword for the first attack. Together, they were easily able to dispatch the five men, but as the last one passed out, another set came down. The second batch had guns and they had rather good aim. While they were able to evade some of the shots, most of them ended up hitting Paine and Baralai. Paine knew that in order to protect them from the bullets she needed to use her dressphere to become a white mage and cast protect. …But if she did that then Baralai would have to do all the fighting until she finished and switched to another outfit.

Suddenly she was in for a surprise when a clear blue shield formed in front of her and soon realized that Baralai was the one who had cast it. She gave him a shocked look, still keeping alert for any attacks as he knocked back a bandit and prepared a cure spell for his injured leg.

"What? To become a praetor, I'd had to be a monk first and monks were taught basic white magic skills through training," he explained when he noticed her stare. She ended up giving a small smile before she decided to put on the samurai dressphere instead. Once on, she immediately cast Clean Slate on herself and resumed battle. Five more bandits appeared before they could finish off the last ones and after two men taken down, yet another group came down. It was quickly getting crowded and it seemed that every time one bandit was defeated, two more would show up in his place, making Paine wonder if Gippal and Rikku were in trouble up there.

"Ultima!" a voice shouted from the direction of the lift before several explosions of light surrounded the remaining bandits. Soon all of the opponents passed out to reveal a furious looking Lulu next to the lift as her weapon, the Onion Knight held a button so no one could use the elevator. Lulu was the only black mage in all of Spira who knew the Ultima spell and Baralai and Paine were the first to witness her use her overdrive, Fury, for the first time since the Eternal Calm started.

"I have been wondering what was happening," the former guardian said as she made her way past the bodies towards the couple, "All this shaking around is preventing Yuna from getting some much needed rest and…Vidina is missing his naptime with all this noise."

"I apologize. It seems the bandits didn't want us to leave and had decided to attack us," Baralai replied as he gestured to the defeated enemies.

"I see and are you the only ones fighting?"

"No, Gippal and Rikku are up on the deck fighting, but it seems that they may need help," Paine explained as she switched back to her warrior dressphere. Lulu nodded and prepared to grab her weapon.

"Then I shall go up and assist them. Will one of you please go down to the cabin area and inform Wakka?"

"I was about to do so, but I think I shall help out too. Perhaps I'll get bring Wakka up as well," the silver haired woman suggested.

"I want to help too, but someone needs to stay behind and protect the crew…" Baralai sighed, not noticing the cockpit door opening.

"Go ahead and go, I'll take care of things here," Shinra said as he stepped into the hallway.

"Huh? But you don't fight," the praetor protested.

"I won't have to. I created some machina drones to defend us, but even then they will be the last defense. I'm going to lock down the door so that no one can get in or out of the bridge until all the bandits are gone."

"Right," he agreed before getting on the elevator with Lulu. Baralai then took once last glance at Paine, "…Paine."

"Don't worry, I'll take care of things below and join you guys later," she reassured. There was no more room for discussion as the doors closed and the elevator went up. Paine quickly pressed the button so that the lift would come back to her once Lulu and Baralai got out.

When she was able to get on the elevator, she made sure that Shinra was safely back inside and pressed the button to go to the engine room where Ormi and Logos were hiding. It was better to see them first in case some bandits managed to make it this far and try to destroy the Celsius. She informed the goons what was happening and after much arguing, told them to guard the engine room. They continued to refuse out of fear of the enemy until she convinced them that only a few bandits could make it that far and that they could handle one or two bandits in battle. After that, she was finally able to make it to the cabin area where Tidus and Wakka were awaiting Lulu's return.

"We're under attack. I need one of you to come with me up to the deck to help the others fight off the bandit's invasion," Paine quickly explained, knowing that someone needed to stay behind to watch over Yuna. Wakka glanced down at his son in his arms and carefully lifted him up into the air and placed him in Tidus's arms.

"You be a good boy for Uncle Tidus an' Auntie Yuna," he cooed at the baby before he grabbed his world championship blitzball and ran to the lift. Tidus only pouted about being left behind, but stayed quiet and watched them go as Vidina happily clapped his tiny hands together.

Paine and Wakka made it up to the deck just in time to drive off the last of the bandits. The Celsius was now too high for their machina and the ones that were already on the ship only had to be pushed off. Rikku and Gippal didn't seem tired at all considering how long they had been fighting before help arrived.

Meanwhile, near the bridge, one of the bandits groaned as he slowly regained consciousness. He glanced at his fallen comrades and then at the door that led to the bridge. The people who had fought them…they weren't Al Bhed. Why were they on an Al Bhed ship? The bandit groaned again and he painfully got up. What's worse, the white haired guy looked a lot like Praetor Baralai, but that was impossible right? The praetor should be in Bevelle. He shook his head and decided that the new information wasn't too important at the moment. It seemed that the couple who had fought them were gone now and the crew was unprotected, meaning that there was nothing to stop him from attacking and taking over the ship.

He was soon disappointed to find that the door wouldn't work. He then glanced at the crest on his hand and briefly thought about blasting it down, but then remembered that the boss had strictly ordered that there was to be no damage to the ship. Perhaps there was another way to seize control of the airship. The bandit made his way back to the elevator and squinted at the buttons. All the words were in Al Bhed and he had no knowledge of the language. He took a wild guess and pressed a button, hoping that it lead to the engine room. When the door opened, he cautiously stepped out with a handgun ready as he proceeded to the next door.

Almost instantly he lowered his gun at the sight. What ever the room was, it was definitely not the engine room, but his mission suddenly seemed irrelevant when his eyes landed on the beautiful lady sitting in the chair before him. The brunette was covered in a white sheet as she held a slumbering baby close to her chest. Her mismatched blue and green eyes glanced up at him innocently. She looked like a saint.

"L-Lady Yuna?" the bandit breathed as he recognized the face. He and his family had been cut off from the world for so long that the last information he had of Spira was when Lady Yuna had defeated Sin and became the High Summoner. How many years has it been? She did seem different with the new hairstyle…and it appeared that she had a child too, "Lady Yuna, what are you doing here on this Al Bhed ship? Were you captured by them?"

"No, I haven't been captured. I consider the Celsius my second home," she answered calmly, careful not to stir the baby.

"What? Then that means…" this information shocked him greatly, but then again, there was something he remembered, "…I guess I should have known that you would be our enemy. I was hoping that the Al Bhed whore you had as a guardian was a tool to get her filthy people to leave you alone on your pilgrimage."

Suddenly, as swift as lightning, Yuna shifted and the bandit found the barrel of her gun pointed straight at his face, "I will not let you call my cousin that! And the Al Bhed are not filthy, they are just like everyone else!"

"Cousin?" his mind went numb. His tribe agreed that Nooj was to be their hero and that Yuna was to be worshiped as their saint, but now he found that she was half Al Bhed, his tribe's mortal enemy. Half Al Bhed like the chosen one they have been waiting for-like… "Just like Nadeshia… but unlike her, you don't have our blood so you can't be saved! YOU VILE WRETCH!"

Yuna gasped as he pulled back his sleeve to reveal many crests tattooed to his arm. They began glowing bright green as a strong wind picked up and blew fiercely at her. She quickly fired her gun at his arm to get him to stop, but the bullets stopped midair and were thrown back against the wall behind her. It wasn't long before the gun was ripped from her grasp. The wind was getting so loud that she couldn't hear Vidina's crying anymore. Yuna closed her eyes when he pulled back his arm to strike…

"Leave her alone!" Tidus shouted as he jumped over the railing on the second floor and landed in front of the bandit. He used the blunt end of his sword to knock back the bandit's arm and quickly kicked him in the stomach. The blow sent the bandit reeling back into the opposite wall, next to the door, where he hit his head and passed out again.

"Tidus!" Yuna sighed happily before she started quieting down Vidina, "Thank you for saving me."

"…Let's not do that again. If another bandit comes in, attack first and ask questions later. It didn't seem like they want to tell us much anyway," he ranted as he leaned over to pick up Yuna's gun, "…If I had waited a second longer, you could have been…"

"But you didn't and I'm okay. Plus I think we did get some valuable info from him. He said that…I'm like Nadie, but unlike her," she said as she cast her eyes to the ceiling.

"Oh yeah, and he said something about you not having their blood. He was talkin' like the other bandits and the Al Bhed are not like everyone else."

"Maybe…maybe they're not like everyone else. I don't know," she replied as Tidus slowly glanced at her, "I think I'll ask Shinra about this later, maybe he knows something."

"Good idea. After all, 'he knows everything'." He smiled when she began giggling at his small joke, "Hey Barkeep! Do you have any sleeping draught so we can keep our new guest down?"

"I'll shee what I can find."

* * *

"No fair! How'd they get across so fast? We had a Chocobo!" Nadie cried as she tugged at Nooj's arm to help him move through the snow faster. They were half way up the slope when a team of 4 bandits appeared at the entrance of Gagazet. Nooj jerked his arm from her grasp and faced them. 

"No use, I'll only slow you down. I'll stay here and try to stop them, you go on ahead."

"Nuh-uh! I'm not going to leave you behind," she shouted stubbornly, causing him to shake his head.

"Fine then, you go hide somewhere nearby while I take care of them," he ordered without glancing at her.

"O-okay." Nadie ran a little further up the slope and went behind one of the columns lining the mountainside. Nooj waited calmly as the men took their time coming to him, like they were sure of victory.

"Sir Nooj, please hand her over to us!" the one in the front demanded. He seemed to be the tallest and the oldest of the group of four and was the only one who didn't wear a mask. He had dark brown hair and dark blue eyes that held a watery gleam as if he was the element of water.

"And what will happen to her if I did?"

"It's none of your concern, but if you must know, we will take her back to Remiem." Remiem? Wasn't there a destroyed Remiem temple near the Calm Lands? Was that the same place they were talking about?

"And are you going to torture her?" Nooj inquired, remembering what Nadie had told him when they first met.

"Yes, at least until she is purified of Al Bhed blood. It's the price she has to pay for being half Al Bhed," a second one responded while trying to be careful of what he was saying. With Nadie so close, one bad word towards her father's people would set off the crest.

"Purified?"

"While she is half Al Bhed, she is also half of our blood- half Taika. She is the chosen one, as prophesized by Belgemine, that, when purified, can contain the most powerful crest magic _and_ be able to destroy the Al Bhed. She will be the one to finally rid us of our long time enemies," the first one explained in a quiet tone so that Nadie couldn't hear.

"So in other words, she is to be your weapon," Nooj growled in disgust.

"A weapon? No, I won't go with you!" the girl yelled from her hiding place.

"_You_ don't have a choice!" the first bandit snarled in her direction.

"But apparently _I_ do, and I won't let you take her," Nooj declared as he discreetly pulled out his gun and hid it behind his back.

"But sir! Please reconsider…we don't want to fight you," the second bandit whined, making him sound like he was no older than Nadie. In fact all of them did seem like teenagers except for the leader of the group.

"She has already destroyed enough lives against her will. I will not sit idly by and let you force her into more bloodshed," Nooj replied in a determined voice.

"Ram…" the second bandit whimpered as he clutched the sleeve of the first bandit.

"I know, Tokko, but we have no choice," Ram muttered darkly as kunai appeared in his hands, "Attack him!"

Nooj stepped back and blocked Ram's attack with his cane and used the hidden gun to shoot the weapons out of Tokko and two other bandits' grasp. With a swift turn, Nooj managed to pull the kunai out of Ram's fingers with his cane and knock down the three other attackers in one swing.

"Tokko!" Ram called out in worry when the younger bandit tumbled back down the slope. Worry was soon replaced with anger. He approached Nooj after he pushed back the last bandit and then punched him in the jaw so hard that it sent him to the ground. Nooj didn't even know what hit him.

"Forgive me fallen hero, forgive me, Sa," the first bandit mumbled as he picked up one of the discarded kunai and prepared to strike. Suddenly a snowball hit Ram in the face and made him fall back down with the rest of the bandits.

"Nooj!" Nadie cried as she frantically crawled over to him, "Are you okay?"

Her response was a groan as he sat up and cradled his now bruised jaw. He was lucky that the boy didn't have enough strength to crack the bone, "I thought I told you to hide?"

"But you were about- …I had to help somehow," she said in a gentle tone.

"Can you fight?"

"No…"

"Then you can't help."

"Sorry…"

"Quick! Give me a sleep grenade. We can take them to Remiem without hurting them that way," Ram ordered to another bandit that was also getting up with him. Once the grenade was in his hand, he pulled the pin out and threw it towards Nooj and Nadie. When they saw it, Nadie let out a gasp and pulled her right hand out in front of her. In one fluid motion, she pulled off the glove and sent a red beam of light to the grenade, making it explode in midair. The gas contained in it was swept away in the wind, but the pieces rained down onto the slope.

"Get down!" Nooj ordered before he pulled the girl under him so she wouldn't get hit by the shrapnel.

"Why? Why is it that everyone wants to protect me? I have done nothing to deserve it. I have only cause sadness and death in my wake," the cursed girl inquired when he finally got up.

"You have done more than enough to deserve the love and protection of your friends and family. You have gone out of your way to protect them and you have given me a second chance to try to overcome my problem. …And as the future of Spira, I do not wish to see you or any other child be used as a killing machine," he replied as he cast his eyes over the bandits.

"Heh, future… Sometimes _you_ don't sound like a Deathseeker either," Nadie mused. They didn't have much time. The bandits were almost done ridding themselves of the bits of grenade and were preparing to charge again, "Why do they want me anyway? They can't use my curse."

"I'm not sure of their intentions myself, but they said they wanted you to destroy the Al Bhed."

"What?" She stared wide eyed at the crest in her hand. The bandits were making their next move as Nooj stood in front of her.

"Wait, I know how to slow them down," she said as she held up her hand. The crest glowed a bloody red, making Ram and his team freeze in fear that she was going to use the spell on them. Nadie surprised them by instead thrusting her hand into the snow covered ground and warmed the stone underneath. The sudden heat to the ground melted the snow and caused a rush of water to sweep down and force the bandits back down to the entrance of Gagazet. With their clothing completely soaked, the bitter temperatures quickly got to them. Should they decide to continue pursuing them, they would end up freezing to death.

"We'll be back!" Ram threatened as he lead Tokko and the others back to the Calm Lands where it was warmer.

"Good job, but they won't be gone for long. We better hurry on ahead. The Ronso will protect us once they hear our story," Nooj commanded as Nadie put her glove back on.

"Okay!"

* * *

Yep there are some Final Fantasy X references in here and for those who didn't play that game here's a few minor spoilers: Belgemine was the summoner Yuna often fought to test out her aeons. The final fight took place at the Remiem Temple.

Oh yeah, this chapter is dedicated to the words Chaos and Insanity because without them, there would be no name for the lovable stuffed chocobo belonging to the girl witha messed up mind. And in other news, I'm thinking of changing the title of this fic since 'No Privacy' doesn't seem to fit it anymore. I was thinking something along the lines of 'The Final War' or something. What do you guys think? Well, the only thing I can promise is that there will be a new chapter, the problem though is _when_ it will be up. I'll try harder to make them sooner!


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